Innocent Bystander
by RBCrazyFan
Summary: Sam/Andy: When a normal day turns into an absolute nightmare, will their secret be exposed?
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. This chapter is an introduction, basically saying how they got together briefly. It leads into the rest of my story.

…

The lone woman opened the gate silently and slipped into the enclosed area. She made a beeline for one of the stones and sat down next to it. The wind whipped at her hair and the rain hid her tears as she ran her fingers over the lettering. "I'm sorry Benny" she whispered. She kept running her fingers over the name "Benjamin Kelly".

As she ran her fingers over the words, she thought about what had happened since that day. "Benny, you'd be glad. I broke up with 'Detective Fancy Pants'. I try to visit Marie at least once a week…" She trailed off as she lost herself in her memories.

_After Sam had gone with her to fix Marie's plumbing, she had no qualms about getting into his car when he offered her a ride home. _

_The night that she had killed for the first time, she began to seriously doubt her relationship with Luke. She had gone to Sam, but ditched him after the lights came back on and Luke had called. She had broken up with Luke a few weeks later. _

_After the initial leaving, Sam had been nasty to her but then he turned civil. Weeks later he told her that when he thought about her comment of "made out with the wrong guy" he realized that she was probably double-crossed and she couldn't double-cross Luke so he bided his time. _

_Whenever she left the Black Penny, if Sam had been leaving at the same time, he offered her a ride. She learned that it was Sam's nature. Anyone leaving the Penny at the same time as him who did not have a car was offered a ride. If there was someone else in the car, sometimes he had dropped her off first, sometimes last but he had never kissed her again, even after she had broken up with Luke._

"It was because of you that Sam and I got past the awkward stage. But you were right. I have a hard time trusting people…"

_The child dying in her arms had thrown her for a loop. She began a downward spiral into depression, a spiral that Sam had pulled her out of through his gentle persistence._

_That first night, he had done nothing more than hold her while she cried herself to sleep. He had patiently waited until she was ready to do anything more._

Andy snapped out of her reverie as the rain stopped. "Thank you Benny" she whispered. "If not for you, Sam and I might have danced around each other forever. There is no way to repay you and I still feel guilty about your death. Nothing will change that but I will try to keep visiting Marie to thank you." She stood up. "I'm sorry it took me so long to come but tonight we have the night shift so I was able to come." She laid a hand on the stone for a second and then slipped out of the cemetery.

.

As she opened the gate, she grinned at the familiar silver truck. "Sam, what are you doing here?" was all she got out before she was swept up in his embrace and a hearty kiss.

"Coming to find my rookie and make sure she gets to work on time" was his answer when they finally parted, as he opened the car door for her.

She waited until he was in the car. "You're lying. What is Boyko going to say when we walk in together?"

He glanced at her as he turned down a side street. "Actually, Boyko told me to find you and talk to you. We're doing another undercover tonight."

Andy groaned. The last undercover she had almost gotten herself killed along with Sadie.

"You're not going out. Boyko is afraid that someone will recognize you because someone yelled you were a cop. Peck can go because half of the hookers don't know who they are hanging out with and Nash will be out there with her. Diaz will be at another location and Epstein is going to be manning the desk."

"So, why did Boyko want you to talk to me?"

"Because I am the training officer he pairs you with most often. You are going to be the backup and he doesn't want you playing on the radio like Epstein did."

"Honestly, he wanted you to find me and talk to me about that? You could have told me that at the station."

"I could have." They were three blocks away from the station and he had pulled his truck into a secluded area. "But when my commander allows me to pick up my secret girlfriend and spend some time alone with her, who am I to argue?" He kissed her.

Eventually, she pulled away. "You win, but we are going to be late if you don't start driving now."

He started driving again and then glanced at her. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

"You were about to apologize for the last time. To be honest, I'm happy you are not going to be out there tonight."

She smiled. "You know me too well." He pulled into the station and they both got out of his car. "And by the way, no radio tonight but what about cell phones when I'm bored?"

He walked around the car so they could walk into the station together. "I guess I'll have to keep my phone on silent and pray that Oliver steps out a lot."

He held the door opened for her and the two walked into the station.

* * *

A.N. I am almost done writing the whole story so the next chapter will be up shortly and will get into the real plot. "The child dying" is a reference to my other story; Pieces Falling Together.


	2. A new day

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks to all of my reviewers and to all of those people who added this story to alerts without anything really happening yet.

Less than 24 hours until "Honor Roll"…

* * *

Three days later, Andy stretched and glanced at the clock. Grumbling, she slid out of bed and gathered what she needed for her morning shower. Then she turned back to the bed. "Sam, wake up".

He mumbled something unintelligible. She tried shaking his shoulder but he brushed her off.

"Sam, you need to wake up so we don't blow our cover." He began to stir. Satisfied that he was awake, she headed to the bathroom.

As she showered, she thought about the extremes they were going through to hide their relationship. They were together almost every night. One of them would leave the Black Penny with the next one following within twenty minutes. They had a spot where they would meet up and then they would drive to her apartment. She had once asked him, not that she minded, why they never went to his apartment and she found out that Jerry and Oliver had the keys to his apartment and had been known to just barge in. (Besides, this way there was never a chance of her walking out on him.) In the morning, he would go back to his apartment and change. This way, they never arrived at the station at the same time.

She sighed. After today, she didn't know if Sam was going to come back anymore. He was going to be extremely angry with her. She just hoped that he would let her explain before blowing up.

She stepped out of the bathroom and made her way over to the bed. After cleaning up the bedroom, she went to the kitchen. She had taken only two steps when strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her close. "I see you got up" she murmured and then his lips were on hers.

He pulled away and looked at her. "The water's boiled. I'll see you later."

She kissed him again, lightly. "Thanks."

He pulled away and headed to the front door. He stopped as he turned the knob and blew a kiss at her. Then he was gone.

Andy went into the kitchen and made herself coffee. Sam knew that she made her coffee depending on her mood. He declared the situation hopeless unless she told him specifically what she wanted. Instead, he now made sure she had hot water.

After finishing her coffee, Andy went back into the bedroom. She was already wearing jeans but over her tight-fitted white tank top, she put on a cap sleeved, button-down purple blouse that Sam had gotten for her. She glanced at the clock. She had time to make another cup of coffee and she was going to need it today.

* * *

When she left her apartment, instead of making a left to go to the station, Andy made a right and headed to her father's apartment. She had spoken to Boyko after everyone had left the station three nights ago and asked if she could have the morning off. When she had explained the situation, Boyko had told her to take the whole day off.

* * *

Sam Swarek walked into the station half an hour after he returned to his apartment. He quickly changed into his uniform and then headed to the briefing room with Oliver Shaw. The two were talking and he was not paying attention until Boyko walked in and silence descended. Only then did he notice that one of the rookie chairs sat unoccupied. He glanced around. _Where was Andy?_ He didn't have time to ask because Boyko was pairing everyone up. "Peck and Diaz, you're at the desk today. Epstein, you're with Shaw. Nash, you're with Williams. Dismissed."

Sam left the room and headed to the locker room. He grabbed a bag of materials and headed out to his car.

He saw Shaw driving away and smirked. Shaw normally let the rookie drive, except when it was Epstein. He threw the bag into the back seat and pulled out his cell phone. He hit send as he opened the door. He was going to find out where his rookie was.

* * *

A.N. I live for reviews and updates on other stories so please review.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter...who knows, maybe the next one will be up before "Honor Roll" 9pm


	3. Why didn't you tell me?

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Sorry for the delay, I was trying to work out details for a later chapter and realized I never posted this.

Thanks to all of my reviewers and to all of those people who added this story to alerts without anything really happening yet. This chapter things start happening...

* * *

_**Backstory: (Since there was a little change in command in "Honor Roll") Frank Best is the current sergeant but he has been out with the flu for the past week so Boyko came back from headquarters to cover for him since he already knew the group.**_

_**

* * *

**_

She was waiting for it so when her phone began to ring, she smiled. "McNally" she said cheerfully. She heard him getting into his squad car.

"McNally, don't you think you should tell your partner if you are taking a vacation?" he yelled.

She was trying to formulate her answer when she heard another voice on the other end.

"Honestly Sammy, she's a rookie. Just because she's probably the only rookie that you don't scare so Boyko placed her with you more often than any other training officer doesn't mean she's 'your' rookie. He probably told Frank to continue on that trend."

Andy could feel Sam's tension as he said "honestly Noelle, I don't think that matters. She should have told me."

"She told Boyko, he's her boss, not you. Go easy on her. She's allowed to take a day off."

Andy heard Noelle walk away. She waited until she heard Sam slamming the car door and revving the engine before speaking. "Do you have anyone with you today?"

"No, my partner ditched."

Andy sighed. "Sam, I didn't ditch. Think about your reaction. It was expected. Had I told you about this, you would not have reacted." She took a deep breath. "Sam, we have to keep our relationship hidden."

Sam groaned. "Fine, you're right. So, why exactly did you need to take off today?"

Andy knew better than to lie to him. "My father has an appointment today. The last three times this appointment has been scheduled he weaseled his way out. The night of the undercover operation I asked Boyko for half a day off. He asked me why and when I explained the situation, he told me to take the whole day."

"And what are you going to do if your father is drunk when you get to his apartment?"

"That will be good. Then the doctor will realize I am not lying when I say he needs help."

"That too. I meant, how will you get in? You told me you don't have a key."

Andy thought for a minute. "Well, last time I went through the window. This time I think I'll use my lock picks."

"Why don't you just kick down the door?"

Andy laughed. "Two reasons. One, I leave that for my training officer. Two, if I kick down the door, he'll need a place to stay until it gets fixed and you know what that means…"

Sam laughed. "So, how long is the appointment?"

"Sam, you are not coming to find me. After I take my dad back to his apartment, I intend to go back to my apartment. You see, there's this new guy I'm seeing and I think I should make him dinner to show my appreciation…"

Andy was about to go into more detail when Sam said "Andy, stop walking and don't talk for a second."

Andy froze and heard a sound. "Sam, that was gun shots."

"I know. Andy?" It sounded like she was running and he growled a curse. "McNally" he yelled into the phone "stop and listen to me." He heard her freeze. "You don't have a vest and you don't have your gun. Everyone knows I was on the phone with you. Give me your location and I will radio it in and have someone bring your vest." Andy gave him her location and then he spoke again, in a commanding, no nonsense tone. "For now, get into a safe location. You may be off duty but as your training officer, I am giving you a command." He hung up before she said goodbye.

.

Leaving his phone on his lap, Sam grabbed the radio and called in what he had heard and requested McNally's vest and gun. Shaw and Epstein responded that they were close. Nash and Williams grabbed Andy's gear and radioed in.

Sam hit the lights and gunned the engine as another voice came over the radio. "Swarek, how do you know about this?"

Sam cursed. He had better talk to Andy before Boyko did. "Sir, I was on the phone with McNally and heard shots in the background. I ordered her not to pursue until she had her gear."

The line stayed quiet.

* * *

Shaw and Epstein reached the location first. By the time they arrived, there had been a 911 call with a more accurate location than where Andy had been walking. People were milling around outside the building, waiting for the police. The two men went into the building, telling everyone else to stay clear of the building.

Sam arrived next. He glanced around but did not see Andy. He wanted to call her and tell her that it was the building next to her father's building but he knew he did not have time. He made his way towards the building when a woman holding a baby ran up to him. "Officer, please. They shot her and she's bleeding in the alley. She needs help."

Sam was about to brush her off when something about her tone struck him. He looked at her. "What happened?"

The woman held her baby close. "My window overlooks the alley behind our building. I heard the shots. I looked outside and saw a woman on her cell phone walking into the alley. They came up behind her and shot her before she could even turn and then skirted her body and slipped away. There's a lot of blood."

Sam looked at her. "Show me" he ordered. He reached for his radio as the woman half ran with him a step behind. "Person shot in the alley behind the building. I'm going to check on the situation. Send an ambulance."

They reached the entrance of the alley and he motioned for the woman to stop. He pulled his gun out and stepped into the alley, looking around. Seeing no one except for a person on the ground, he put his gun away.

The woman on the ground was lying facedown, her purse and cell phone nearby. As he stepped closer, he realized that he recognized the shirt, and the purse lying next to the woman. "Officer down" he yelled into his radio and then ran the rest of the way. He threw his bag down next to her and sat down, taking her hand. She had a weak pulse. "McNally," he said as he opened the bag and pulled out gauze packets, "can you hear me?"

* * *

A.N. Please review, if you have to flame, please make it constructive. The more reviews, the more motivated I am to update (and the next chapter is almost complete).


	4. Saving Her

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks to all of my reviewers and to all of those people who added this story to alerts.

Less than 5 hours until a new episode!

* * *

_(From the end of last chapter) "McNally," he said as he opened the bag and pulled out gauze, "can you hear me?" _

There was no answer. He glanced at the purple gloves in the bag and ignored them. He didn't have time to waste to put on the gloves. Instead, he ripped off the top of her blouse. He noticed that her once white tank top was stained with blood near the wound so he slid the tank top off of her shoulder until he reached the wound. He placed a cloth on the wound and applied pressure. The wound was not deep; her purse strap had protected her. In fact, the bullet was lodged in her purse strap.

As Sam sat there with his hands on her back, he realized that there was blood pooling under her and she was still not responsive. He cursed. As he held one hand to the wound, he used the other hand to gently lift her up and turn her to her side. He forgot the woman who had come to get him until she appeared at Andy's head. She had taken the blanket off of her baby and formed a pillow. She helped him shift Andy so that Andy was lying on her back. He looked at the woman. "Thank you. Can you wait by the mouth of the alley and flag down medical help?"

The woman nodded and slipped to the mouth of the alley, holding her baby tightly.

Sam looked at Andy and saw that the woman must not have seen everything. Andy had been shot twice. The wound on her upper back had just grazed her, thanks to her purse. The wound near her stomach on the other hand… He tore the rest of her blouse and lifted her tank top, which was covered in blood. Seeing the wound, he swore while yanking another piece of cloth from the bag and pressing it on the wound near her stomach.

Andy whimpered. When Sam pressed harder, she screamed.

"McNally?" No response. "Andy?" She didn't respond and he cursed. He needed another set of hands. _Make do with what you have_ he though grimly. As he applied pressure, he maneuvered his body so that he was nose to nose with Andy. "Sweetheart?" he whispered softly, adding pressure to the wound (he had a fleeting memory of their first night together when the lights went back on but he quickly pushed it away, knowing he needed his full concentration).

Her eyes opened. He saw that they were glazed with pain. He knew that he had to keep her awake until the medics got there.

"Andy," he whispered softly "look at me." He waited until her eyes found his again. "Your dad is fine. It was in the apartment building next to his. Help is on the way."

* * *

SQUAD CAR:

Noelle Williams and Traci Nash were almost at the location when Sam's voice came through the radio about a woman shot in an alley. They had not gotten much farther when Sam's voice crackled over the radio screaming "officer down."

Unconsciously, Noelle pushed on the gas pedal. Traci screamed "are you trying to get us killed?"

Noelle slowed down a notch and then Traci asked "what's happening?"

Noelle shot a glance at her rookie. "I've worked with Sam for many years. Only once have I heard him use that tone."

Traci swallowed hard. "Maybe we should go a little faster" she said quietly.

Noelle pushed down again on the gas as the radio crackled to life again. "Williams, when you get here, find Swarek and send Nash to me." Noelle nodded to herself. Shaw also knew the tone in Sam's voice and if it were that bad, neither one wanted Traci to see it.

Noelle swallowed, calming herself. "Nash, pull out a pair of gloves so I can put them on while I find Swarek."

.

As she pulled her squad car behind Oliver Shaw's car, Traci handed her the gloves. As soon as she was parked, the two women jumped out and ran in opposite directions.

* * *

A woman directed Noelle to Sam's location. She ordered the woman to stay put and ran to Sam. She saw he was nose to nose with Andy. He looked up when he heard her footsteps and she skidded to a halt. She sat down next to him and pulled out more cloth to replace the ones he had on Andy. "Sammy," she said softly "are you okay?"

He nodded and moved his hand that was on her stomach so she could replace the cloth (he kept his other hand under Andy's body, pressing to the other opening).

She took Andy's wrist, felt it, and swore. "Sam, we're losing her."

Sam lost concentration as despair filled him. Without Andy he didn't know what he was going to do.

"Sammy, you've kept my secrets over the years and I'll keep yours. We need to save her."

Her words snapped him out of his anguish. He quickly wiped his hand on a clean cloth to rid himself of some of the blood from holding the cloth to the wound. "Put more pressure on the wound" he ordered.

Noelle pressed down and Andy screamed. Sam grabbed her chin. "Andy, sweetheart, look at me." Holding her face, he was able to get her to focus in on him. "You're gonna be okay. Just stay with me."

She moaned. "It hurts" she whispered.

He let go of her face and stroked her hair. "I know. The medics will be here soon. You're gonna be alright. Just stay with me." He repeated "look at me, just stay with me" over and over again. Andy's eyes, glazed with pain, held his.

A minute later, Andy responded to his repeated sentence of "just stay with me" by moaning again and then her eyes rolled. "Andy" Sam screamed.

* * *

A.N. Guess which movie I was watching when I wrote the ending to this chapter ("look at me, stay with me)!


	5. Medical Help

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue. (I should also say that I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean since I was watching it when the end of last chapter came to me).

A.N. Thanks to all of my reviewers and to all of those people who added this story to alerts. I couldn't check email for over 24 hours and when I was finally able to check, my inbox was flooded!

_Italics = people's thoughts_

_Enjoy!  
_

* * *

"Andy" Sam screamed a second time and then someone clamped something on her mouth. Sam looked up to see two EMS personnel next to him. The man had strapped an oxygen mask to Andy's face and the woman had taken Noelle's position.

The two managed to stabilize Andy enough to lift her onto a stretcher. Then the woman turned to the two officers. "Are either of you certified to assist medically?"

Noelle looked at Sam as he helped the male medic in attempting to at least bandage Andy's wounds. "Yeah. As part of our training every officer can. Why?"

The woman sighed. "We're short staffed again. Calls keep coming in so they sent us out in groups of two instead of three. There are two ambulances here but I can't pull anyone away from the crime scene since I don't know the situation and I don't want to transport her with just the two of us. I need someone in the back of the ambulance with me to keep her stabilized. If I need Jake, whichever of you is riding with us can drive."_ Technically it is not legal, but hey, they are cops so they are not going to get us into trouble.  
_

Noelle looked at Sam and then at the woman. "Sam will go with you. Just don't let him drive. Andy McNally is off duty today but she's his rookie."

The woman nodded and helped Jake push the stretcher while radioing in to ready the OR. Sam let go of Andy and stood, watching.

Noelle looked at Sam. "Give me your squad car keys and go with them."

As if on autopilot, he handed her the keys and caught up to the medics.

Noelle pulled off the gloves as she watched Sam and Stacey enter the ambulance. When the doors were closed and they began to pull away, she turned to the woman who had been watching the whole thing to get her statement. She also radioed in her location because she knew they would need pictures.

In the ambulance the woman inserted an IV into Andy's arm before introducing herself as Stacey. Then, with Sam's help she pulled off Andy's bloody clothing to look for any other wounds on Andy. As she changed the bandaging on Andy's back and stomach, she handed Sam a wet cloth and motioned to Andy's face. Sam understood and erased the signs of his hand on Andy's face so the doctors wouldn't think she was wounded there as well.

* * *

When they arrived at the hospital, a team of nurses met them and took the stretcher bearing Andy straight into the OR.

Stacey touched Sam's arm. He turned to look at her. "Officer" she looked at his nametag "Swarek, the staff bathroom is right here. You might want to wash off your hands."

Sam looked at his hands and saw that they were still covered in dry blood, Andy's blood. He nodded and retreated to the bathroom.

When he looked at himself in the mirror he was horrified. Until this point, he had been so busy being concerned with Andy that he had not bothered to look at himself. The bottom half of his uniform was soaked in blood _Andy's blood_. He began to panic_ how much blood had she lost?_ He scrubbed his hands clean and washed his face, trying to erase the haunted expression that was present. When he was satisfied he had done his best (and in his opinion he looked calmer), he went to the front desk. Stacey was waiting there for him. "The other officer told me that the patient's name is Andy McNally and we have been able to get some records but we need someone to fill out the paperwork. Do you know anyone who we can contact?"

Sam thought about it for a minute. Chances were that her father was drunk. "Did you bring her purse?"

Stacey nodded and handed it to him. He barely noted that the strap holding the bullet was cut off (probably by Noelle's pocket knife) as he rifled through it until he found what he was looking for. "Give me the forms. With this information I should be able to fill almost everything out."

By the time he had finished filling out the forms, Stacey was gone. He went to the front desk. "Excuse me, here are the forms for Andy McNally and I was wondering if you could tell me how she is doing?"

The woman behind the desk looked up as she took the forms. "No news sir, but in this case, no news is good news."

He was about to answer when his phone began ringing. "Excuse me." He walked away as he answered "Yeah Jerry."

"Sam, what's the story?"

"She's in surgery. Can you come get me and bring me back to the barn?" He had to find out what was going on, he had to make sure they caught the people that did this to Andy. It was better to be there then to be here, at the hospital, waiting and pacing.

* * *

A.N. Quick question for my dedicated readers: do you want to actually see the reactions of others or should it just be told to Sam or Andy (such as how the rookies react when the news really sinks in)? Let me know – cuz it's important for the next chapter!


	6. Back at the Barn 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thank you to all of those who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted for this story. Based on review comments, I am going to be showing other views. Unfortunately I have had a busy few days and had a case of writers block.

I split this chapter into two because I am not done and wanted to post cuz I know how much I hate waiting for a new chapter of a story. The next part will hopefully be up soon.

_Italics = thoughts_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Three minutes later, Detective Jerry Barber pulled into the emergency room lane in Sam's squad car. Sam got in. "You have my car?"

"Boyko and I came after you said officer down. We got there a few minutes after you left and Noelle turned over your keys. Boyko told me to take it back to the barn since we rode together and he didn't want Traci driving. I wasn't going to argue." They pulled into the station. "You okay?" Sam heard the concern in his voice.

"I'll be fine." Sam handed Jerry a small envelope a nurse had given him just before he left the hospital before heading to the locker room. He wished he could just end his shift right now and run back to Andy's side but he was still on call. Now, he needed to shower and get a new uniform, a uniform that wasn't covered in her blood. Then he needed to find out if they caught the people that had done this to Andy and make sure justice was served.

Shaw met him just inside the locker room. "Noelle told Boyko that you are covered in blood. He wants to see you, in plain clothes, after you've showered."

Sam nodded and walked into the shower as Oliver left the locker room, leaving him alone. After standing under the hot water for a few minutes trying to rid himself of the bloody feeling, he turned off the water and dressed. When he stepped out, he noticed that the department was quiet. He quickly walked to Boyko's office and knocked. As Boyko motioned for him to come in, he noticed that Jerry was seated in one of the other chairs.

"Swarek" Boyko greeted him and motioned for him to sit down. "I am trying to piece together the sequence of events and it doesn't make sense. I want to hear your side of the story."

Sam sighed. He knew this was coming, but he hadn't really thought about it. "McNally and I are normally partnered together. When we said goodbye yesterday, she didn't mention that she was not coming in today. I got upset so I called her. She told me she asked for a day off..." He glanced at Jerry. They were friends but he didn't want to spill Andy's secrets in front of him.

As he trailed off, thinking about how to delicately explain the situation with Jerry in the room, the phone rang. Boyko answered the phone, made a few noncommittal sounds and then hung up. "Detective Barber, there is a problem in booking. Would you?"

As Jerry stood to leave the room Boyko handed him the envelope that Sam had given to Jerry earlier. Suddenly, Jerry realized what the "problem" was. He nodded and quickly left the office. Once he was gone Boyko motioned for Sam to continue.

"She told me that she was taking her father to an appointment." When Boyko looked surprise, he quickly explained "we are partnered together a lot. We end up talking about personal lives sometimes. I remember her father from my first years in the department and I think she just needed someone to talk to."

Boyko nodded. "It is good that she spoke to someone. So, what happened after she told you?"

"I asked her how she was going to get in if his door was locked and she said lock picks and started teasing me about kicking down doors. Then I heard shots in the background."_ Well, really they had moved on but he couldn't tell Boyko about the next part of the conversation without sabotaging their careers so he edited a little_. "I told her to freeze and then she heard it too. She started running towards the sound and I told her that I didn't care that she was off duty, as her training officer I was commanding her to stop and wait for her gun and vest. I told her to get somewhere safe until backup arrived and she had her vest and gun."

Jerry slipped back into the room as Sam said the word "running". When Sam stopped for breath, he looked at Boyko. "They caught four guys, three with guns. Shaw and Williams came in and kicked the rookies out. Two of the guns matched with the bullets that were taken from the purse strap and the one the doctor gave Sam."

Boyko nodded and Jerry sat down. "Continue Swarek."

"When I got there, a woman stopped me saying someone was shot in the alley. There was something about her voice that stopped me. Then I realized that McNally might have gone to help and told the woman to wait for more help so I followed the woman and found McNally lying in a pool of blood."

Boyko and Jerry cringed. Both had seen cases like this in their days on the streets, just not their rookies. Boyko recovered first. "Williams said that she made the decision to send you to the hospital. Why didn't you make the decision?" _Sam is Andy's T.O., he should have made the decision._

"I was busy helping the medic stabilize McNally. The next thing I know, Williams is telling me to go with the medics."

Boyko twirled a pen for a minute, not saying anything. Finally he spoke. "You are correct. I have placed you two together a lot. She complements you well. For all she is a rookie, she is a good cop. For the rest of the day, I want you to go back to the hospital. Keep me posted."

Sam nodded and stood. As he was about to exit, Boyko spoke again. "Swarek, if they let you in to see her, don't waste time calling me. You can call me after you have appraised the situation."

* * *

A.N. I am giving advance warning: The next chapter focuses on Shaw, Williams and the Rookies – very little, if any, Sam or Andy.


	7. Back at the Barn 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks to all of those who reviewed, alerted, and/or favorite-ed this story.

This chapter was one of those where I knew where I wanted it to end but I was honestly surprised when I finished.

This chapter starts in the middle of last chapter with a different POV (WARNING: No Sam or Andy in this chapter)

Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing!

* * *

Four men were brought in to the booking room. Gail and Chris asked them their names, but none of the men responded. The cops who had brought them in began unloading the weapons they had found. One of them grabbed Andy's purse strap off the desk and held it, examining it closely. After a minute, he cursed and left his partner to finish unloading as he went outside to call Boyko.

Seconds later, Noelle Williams and Oliver Shaw entered the room. "Diaz, Peck, out."

The two looked startled at Shaw's command but obeyed. As they stepped out, Detective Barber ran in. "You two, find Epstein and Nash and wait for me in the supply room."

* * *

Booking Room:

Jerry walked into the booking room. "Officers Shaw and Williams" he handed them an envelope. Speaking quietly so the four men would not hear him he said "I don't care how you do it. That first gun matched the bullet in the purse strap and I'll bet that this one matches too. Get the information out of them."

With that said, he slipped out of the room.

Noelle looked at the men. "Look, I need your names right now." She looked down at the clipboard of information from the officers who brought them in. "Says here that you all claim you are innocent. If you are really innocent, why aren't you telling me your names?"

One of the boys sighed. "Derek Jenkins. This is Tony Gray, Adam Ferton, and Justin Blake." As he spoke, he pointed to another one of the men sitting on the bench. "We were playing b-ball when the cops picked us up. We didn't do nothing."

"And you had guns because…"

Derek rolled his eyes at Noelle's question. "Look officer. We live in a dangerous neighborhood. Almost everyone has a gun."

Oliver Shaw looked at him. "If almost everyone has a gun, how come only three of you had guns?"

Derek smiled. "Adam's my cousin. He's too young to have a gun."

Shaw nodded. "Fine. Where were you this morning?"

"Playing b-ball."

"You've been playing all day?"

"Yes officer."

Noelle motioned to Oliver with her head. "Excuse me gentlemen, we will be right back."

Outside, she looked at Oliver. "They are lying. The second bullet matched." While Oliver asked questions, she had discreetly matched the bullet to a gun and texted Jerry to let him know. "Playing b-ball all day? There are no witnesses to that and, wouldn't they be sweaty? I've seen the rookies play for half an hour and know what they look like. There is no way they are telling the truth."

Oliver nodded. "Let's get them into holding cells and talk to each one separately."

* * *

The interviews with the three who had been carrying guns did not go well. They all told the exact same story.

When they got to Adam, Noelle motioned to Oliver to let her talk. "Son, we need to know what really happened today."

"We were playing b-ball the whole day."

Noelle looked at him. "And that is why you have blood on your pants?"

The boy burst into tears. "Is she okay?"

Noelle and Oliver exchanged glances. "Who?"

"The woman in the alley. I wanted to help but Derek pulled me away. She was just an innocent bystander." He yelled the last line.

"Adam" Noelle said softly (she had learned a few tricks in her ten years of service) "she is in surgery right now but we need to know the whole story. Will you help us?" She handed him a bottle of water.

Adam inhaled the water and then began. "Derek came to me yesterday. He said he and his friends had a job and needed a lookout man. They were going to steal some money and I needed cash.

"We got into the building and they broke into the apartment. No one was there and they were done quickly. Someone saw us as we were leaving and began to yell. Justin took out a gun and let off three shots and then we split up.

"Justin and Tony went one way and Derek and I went another way. As we ran, he said we were going to meet up in the alley behind the building and jump the wall.

"When we got to the alley, we saw a woman. Derek wasn't thinking, and he shot her. We found out after that Tony shot her also.

"I wanted to help her. I bent down but Derek yanked me up, ripping my shirt. We ran and they hid the money in Tony's apartment. Then we went to the b-ball courts. They wouldn't let me leave because they were afraid I was going to tell someone."

Oliver and Noelle sat in shocked silence for a few seconds. Oliver found his voice first. "You did the right thing son."

They brought him back to a holding area, away from the other three that were brought in with him, and went to talk to Boyko.

* * *

Supply Room:

Gail and Chris found Traci and Dov by the front desk. "Detective Barber wants us to go to the supply room and wait for him." Chris looked from Dov to Traci and back. Dov stood up, but Traci remained motionless. "Traci" he came up behind her and pulled her up, guiding her to a bench in the supply room.

Once they were alone, Traci burst into tears again. Dov moved to comfort her as Gail and Chris sat on a second bench. Gail sat stiffly as Chris held her hand like a lifeline.

It seemed like hours, but it was only minutes, until Detective Barber entered the supply room.

Traci stood up and threw herself at him. He motioned for the other rookies to wait as he attempted to calm her down. He sat down with her on the bench she had recently vacated. Chris and Gail remained on the second bench as Dov took to pacing the room. Finally Traci's sobs became silent. Jerry knew she was still crying by the way her body shook but he owed it to the other rookies. "Sammy's on his way back to the hospital. Andy is still in surgery but they got the bullet out."

The rookies digested this news in silence. Dov broke it first. "But what happened? What's going on? Is she going to be okay?"

Jerry looked at Dov and then glanced at Chris and Gail before he shifted slightly. "Andy was on her way to take her father to an appointment. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Noelle and Oliver are questioning the suspects right now.

"As of now, we don't know what is going on with Andy. Boyko is hoping that when Sam gets to the hospital he will be able to find out more information, even if he has to resort to bullying tactics.

"Listen, I know you are all worried about Andy. Everyone here is. But, you still have a job to do. Gail and Chris, go back to the booking room. Dov and Traci, you will be by the front desk. After shift meet me back here and I will tell you whatever new information that we have.

"You will probably hear how the surgery went as soon as Sam gets in touch with Boyko. But still, meet me back here." He needed to make sure they were all okay before he let them leave and drive home. He already knew he was not going to let Traci drive home.

Chris and Gail left the room first. Dov shot a look at Traci and then Jerry. Jerry motioned for him to leave them alone.

"Traci?" he was concerned.

"She is my best friend" Traci sobbed. "I want to be with her."

Jerry massaged her back gently. "I know Traci. But she is in surgery right now and Sam is going back there. I hate to say this but you need to control your emotions and get back to the front desk. Andy won't thank you if someone else gets killed because you couldn't concentrate."

Traci hiccupped and wiped her eyes. "I hate it, but you are right."

Jerry kissed her gently. "Go to the women's locker room and clean yourself up."

Traci nodded and left the room.

Jerry waited a minute and then strolled to the front desk. "Epstein" he said in a low voice, motioning for Dov to come close "if she has another breakdown, call me."

* * *

A.N. Next chapter is back to Sam's POV.


	8. Please Wake Up!

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Sorry it took so long to update. I was just going to work on this story and realized I forgot to post this chapter.

Thanks to all who reviewed/alerted or favorite-ed – y'all made my day!

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Sam sped to the hospital in his truck. When he went to the front desk, they told him that Andy was out of the OR but they did not know where she was. As he argued with them, a woman walked over.

"Officer Swarek" he turned and saw Stacey, the woman who had probably saved Andy's life in the ambulance. "Will you sit quietly if I try to track down Ms. McNally's whereabouts?"

Sam nodded and she disappeared. As he sat waiting, he thought back to the earlier hours of the day. All he wanted to do now was hold Andy in his arms and make sure she was safe. He fidgeted slightly. He no longer cared about the rules. He glanced at his watch and realized that over five hours had passed since the initial call over the radio reporting gun shots. The longer he waited, the more nervous he became.

Twenty minutes later Stacey returned and beckoned for Sam to follow her. She led him to a small waiting room before speaking. "Ms. McNally is in the ICU. If you wait here, the doctor should be out shortly and he will be able to answer all of your questions."

As she left, Sam called Boyko to let him know that he had finally been able to locate Andy and was now waiting for a doctor to speak to him about her condition.

Minutes later, a doctor appeared. "You must be Officer Swarek, the man who called it in."

"Yeah. How's my rookie?"

The doctor looked at his notes. "We don't know. The first 24 hours are critical. Right now, we are waiting for her to wake up."

Sam's heart almost stopped. "Wake up?" he whispered.

"We had to sedate her for surgery but we don't want to give her any more sedatives until she wakes up and we can assess her pain levels. We also had to do a blood transfusion and we need to make sure her body doesn't reject it. That process is almost complete. You can go in and see her now. If she wakes up, just push the red button by her bedside." He pushed back a curtain and Sam slipped into the room. Two nurses saw him, finished what they were doing and then left him alone with Andy.

Sam walked slowly to the bed. She looked so peaceful, as if she were just sleeping. If not for the tubes and the heart monitor beeping in the background, he would have thought she _was_ sleeping. When he reached the bed, he ran his hand gently through her hair. "Oh Andy" he whispered, "please wake up". Never before had he been so scared, not even when she had caught that killer and he ran to the basement praying she wasn't dead. Now that they were in a relationship, he realized that he couldn't lose her. "Please sweetheart, for my sake, wake up."

A few minutes later, Sam thought he saw some movement. "Andy?" he whispered tenderly. He didn't want to startle her.

Andy moaned softly. As she opened her eyes slowly, Sam hit the button for the doctor. "Sam?" it was the merest hint of a whisper but he heard it and the pain behind it.

He touched her cheek gently. "Don't talk. I know it hurts. The doctor will be here in a minute."

"Stay?" she whispered.

"Of course." He kept his eyes locked with hers.

The doctor came in with a nurse and they gave Andy a sedative. When her eyes closed, Sam looked up. When he met the doctor's gaze, the doctor motioned to Sam. Sam followed the doctor outside. "What's wrong?"

The doctor smiled. "Nothing. She woke up quickly. Chances are looking very good that she will make a full recovery. The blood transfusion is complete. While she is sleeping the nurses are going to do a full diagnostic and make sure everything went well." He looked at his watch. "I want her body to have time to adjust a little so it will be done soon. In the meantime, we are going to move her out of the ICU. When she is settled in the new room, the nurses will stay with her and do a diagnostic." The doctor scribbled information on a sheet of paper. "Go to this room. Have a seat outside of the room when you get there. The nurses will be bringing Ms. McNally soon. When they get down, they will do the diagnostic and then I will be back to let you know the results as soon as they are in." The doctor walked away.

Sam pulled out his cell phone and dialed Boyko's number, while he walked to the room on the slip of paper, and gave him the latest.

When he finished, Boyko gave his own piece of news, news that did not surprise him at all. "Swarek, I tried her father. He was drunk. There is no way they are going to let him into the hospital and honestly, I don't think she needs the stress."

Sam nodded and then realized that Boyko couldn't see him. "I agree sir."

"Swarek, I don't think she should be alone. I know you hate hospitals but if I give you off tomorrow can you stay with her tonight?"

Sam agreed and hung up. He sat down on a chair. He knew he was lucky Boyko offered him tomorrow off. He would have probably stayed the night anyway but this way he would not be pulling a shift while sleep deprived.

* * *

Tease for next chapter: Forty-five minutes went by and Andy was wheeled into her new room. The two nurses had been in the room with her for about fifteen minutes when Sam heard a blood-curling scream.

...

A.N. I know some of the medical issues might be a little off - such as the blood transfusion but this is FANfiction and thankfully I don't know a lot about these things so sorry! Please review and let me know what you think.


	9. What's going on?

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted.

**Tikvarn:** Thanks!

**Hope06:** I wasn't thinking like that, I was thinking about they are partners and partners stick together, but true!

**Rooks345:** Technically, yes. I believe that Boyko must have known Andy's father and the department would try to take care of their own. And, I don't think it was too understanding, I'm sure at one point he was a T.O. as well and understands the feeling of responsibility for "your" rookie.

Once again, I am not a medical expert so sorry if there are medical mistakes.

_Italics = thoughts_

_Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Forty-five minutes went by and Andy was wheeled into her new room. Sam was happy to see that all she had was an IV, she was not hooked up to anything else.

The two nurses had been in the room with her for about fifteen minutes when Sam heard a blood-curling scream.

He jumped up as he heard her panicked voice scream again and yell "SAM".

He knew he wasn't supposed to go into the room but he had to be with her. He raced in and saw her thrashing on the bed as the two nurses tried to hold her. Liquid was on the floor. It looked like out of the nurses had pulled the IV tube off of the bag so Andy couldn't hurt herself with it.

She yelled his name again. He moved to her side and saw that her eyes were laced with pain. He tried calling her name but she didn't even realize he was standing there. He knew, by the way the nurses were struggling, that she was too strong for them. He did the only thing he knew would make her stop thrashing. He placed his lips on hers and kissed her. Suddenly, she stopped thrashing and her arms went around his neck. He moved his head slightly so she could breathe and suddenly she went limp. He detangled himself from her hands and looked at the nurses. On of them was holding an empty syringe.

"Sorry you had to see that sir. I don't know what that was. It could have been that the dosage of medicine was not strong enough or she had a reaction to something. Thank you for getting her calm enough so we could sedate her."

The doctor ran in. "What happened?"

"She woke up, screaming in pain" the second nurse answered. "I think she might have ripped some of her stitches when she thrashed."

The doctor looked at Sam. "Officer, would you kindly step out while I take a look?"

Sam hesitated, he didn't want to leave her, and the first nurse intervened. "You can come back in and sit with her when we are done."

* * *

Sam left the room and debated whether or not to call Boyko. It was getting late and the man had a family of his own. His mind was made up for him when his cell phone rang. "Yeah?"

"How is she?" Traci's voice was thick with concern. He could also tell, by the sound of her voice, that she had been crying but wasn't right now.

"They are doing a diagnostic right now. She woke up earlier and they gave her sedatives because she's going to be in a lot of pain for a few days." He heard what sounded like crying. _Was she starting to cry again? Was someone with her? _"Are you okay?"

She sniffed. "I'll be fine. Just no one would tell me anything."

Sam was about to say something when he heard a voice in the background say "we didn't know anything".

Sam sighed, _well, that answered that question_. "Nash, give Jerry the phone." He heard the phone being passed. "Jerry, how is she?" After he and Andy got together, he had asked some questions about Traci. The amount of life experience she had was amazing. She was a teenage mom but she had the makings of a good cop. To hear her, that she had lost it, made him realize how deep the friendship between the two women was.

Jerry Barber eyed Traci. "She's shaken up. All of the rookies are. It doesn't help that there has been no news."

"Boyko didn't tell you that she woke up?"

"He did but that was a while ago. Has anything changed?"

Sam made his decision. Based on Traci's reaction, he didn't want anyone worrying about what had just happened unless the doctor said it would happen again. "Nope. They are doing a diagnostic on her now to try to see about how long it will take her body to recover."

Jerry sighed. "Fine. Take care. I'll see you in the morning."

Sam hung up the phone, knowing he didn't need to tell Jerry that someone should stay with Traci, and saw the doctor. "How is she?"

The doctor motioned for him to sit down and took a chair opposite him. "I have to apologize. After I kicked you out the nurses told me what you did. Ms. McNally ripped some of her stitches. Had you not come in, most of our work from earlier today would have gone to waste."

"Is she okay?"

"Yes. We upped her dosage of morphine a little. You can stay in the room with her; you know what to do if she wakes up."

Sam regarded the doctor thoughtfully. "If she wakes up or if she is in too much pain?"

The doctor understood right away. "If she doesn't want it, she doesn't have to take the medication but leave it up to her. Besides, she should sleep now for a few hours."

* * *

Sam slipped silently into the room. The nurse who had defended him looked at him. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

The woman nodded and left after telling him to page the nurses station if he needed anything.

Sam sat down and stroked Andy's hair. She looked so pale. Despite the doctor's reassurance, he wanted her to wake up. He wanted her to talk to him, to lie to him that she was fine. He wanted to hold her in his arms so that he would know she was okay.

He sat watching her sleep for a while but eventually the day's events caught up to him and he fell asleep with his head on the bed.

* * *

A.N. Reviews are helpful!

Next chapter: Andy tells her side of the day!


	10. My side of the Story

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

28 hours left until the finale - whose excited?

A.N. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted. This is going to be the last chapter for a while because I have a TON of schoolwork (which is also why I haven't been so good about reviewing all the other stories even though I read them) but don't worry, I _WILL _finish the story, it just might take longer than I thought it would.

_Italics = thoughts_

_Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Sam woke suddenly, feeling a strange sensation. He picked his head up and saw that Andy was awake. Her right arm was in a soft cast. She had badly bruised her wrist breaking her fall and the doctor decided to bandage it. She was using that hand to run her hand through his hair as she looked at him with a degree of love in her eyes.

Sam looked at her and stood up. He held a glass of water and lifted the straw to her lips. She drained the cup quickly. He moved to refill it but she shook her head. He placed the cup on a small table and sat down next to her on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

Her eyes closed. "Horrible" she whispered.

"Do you want me to call the doctor?" He tried to keep his worry out of his voice but when her eyes opened he realized she saw right through it.

She looked at him. "Sam" she whispered. He realized what she wanted (_and what he wanted as well if he was honest about it_) so he leaned in and she kissed him. When she finally broke away, he kept his hand on her cheek, unwilling to let go of her. "What happened?"

Sam regarded her thoughtfully. "Why don't you tell me what you remember and then I will fill in the rest?" Before she could say anything he moved away from the bed and filled the cup with water. "Drink."

Andy drank obediently and drained the cup. "No more" she looked at him. Her voice was stronger so she knew he wouldn't argue.

Sam returned the cup to the table and then sat down next to her, taking her casted hand and touching it softly.

Andy smiled. She had never seen Sam so worried before and she tried to squeeze his hand to reassure him that she was okay. "We were on the phone and I started running towards the gunshots when you told me to get into a safe location."

"The alley was a good choice Andy."

She glared at him. "I thought you wanted me to talk.

"I was calling my father, to let him know that I was going to be a little late, when I saw someone in the alley in front of me. He pointed the gun at me and shot. As it hit me, I heard something go off behind me and stuck out my hand to break my fall." She glanced down at her hand. "Guess I broke it."

"It's just your wrist and it is a bad bruise, not a break."

Andy nodded, taking in the information before continuing. "As I fell, one of the people behind me started panicking, yelling that they said they were just going to scare people and take money. He said no one said anything about shooting anyone and he bent down to help me. I heard his shirt tearing as someone pulled him away from me and then I heard footsteps running away from me as everything faded to pain."

She stopped because Sam looked startled. He looked at her and nodded. He would probably tell her what was on his mind when she finished. "I must have blacked out. The next thing I remember is you being there. You must have turned me over because I remember falling on my stomach. At first I couldn't find you. I heard you and couldn't find you." Her voice broke and she swallowed hard before continuing. "But then you were close enough for me to kiss you. You faded and then somehow your hand was holding my face. I was in so much pain but I just wanted you to stay with me."

She stopped, drained. Sam got her more water, glad for an excuse to look away from her for a few seconds so he could control his own emotions. "Andy," he said, turning back to her with the full glass, "do you want to tell me the rest or do you want me to call the doctor?"

She was almost done and she wanted to get it all out. Besides, once he got the doctor she would sleep again and even the sedatives and pain relievers could not chase away all of her dreams/nightmares. She finished the water and shook her head, handing him the glass. He set it gently beside her bed.

"Then I was in a room, and you were here. I asked you to stay. I felt the doctor do something and the next thing I knew, you were asleep next to me." She looked around. "And, we are in a different room."

Sam looked at her. She didn't remember her anxiety attack and he was not about to share it.

"Your turn Sam."

He looked at her and shook his head. "No. You're not good at lying Andy. I see how much pain you are in." He discreetly pushed the button to alert the doctor. "When you wake up next time I will tell you everything else." He wanted to find out more information before he told her everything.

The doctor walked in before she had a chance to argue. Andy grabbed Sam's hand before he could pull it off of the bed.

If the doctor noticed, he didn't say anything. Instead, he looked at Andy's face. "How are you feeling?"

Andy felt Sam's hand tense and knew better than to lie. "I've been better. I feel a lot of pain."

The doctor nodded. "That is to be expected." He handed her two pills. "Now that you are awake I would rather you take these then giving them to you through IV."

Andy looked at her left hand which had a tube running out of it. "If I take these can you take this out?"

The doctor nodded. "Next time you wake up it will be gone."

The doctor left the room. Sam pried his hand out of Andy's and moved to pour another glass of water. He handed it to her and watched her down the pills. "Sam," she whispered "will you stay with me?"

He set the glass down and sat next to her on the bed. "Wouldn't dream of going anywhere."

They sat in comfortable silence, hand in hand, as the medicine kicked in and Andy drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A.N. Not so thrilled with this chapter but I wanted to get something out before I couldn't update for a while.

Next up: Sam has a visitor (even though it is after hours).

Please review and let me know what you thought.


	11. A Surprise Visitor

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. I'm back! Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted.

Just a note about my other story: Betting on Us – for now it is a one-shot because if I continue it I want to make it REALLY good and right now I just can't think beyond what I already wrote.

Just a quick thing – for my purposes, in this story, the rookies are still rookies…

_Italics = thoughts_

_Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

She had not been sleeping for long when a nurse walked in. "Excuse me sir, would you be able to step out for a minute so I can check Ms. McNally's wounds and change her bandages?"

Sam was about to reply that he had seen her stomach and back before when he thought the better of it. He nodded and stood. He placed a soft kiss on Andy's forehead and left the room.

He was surprised to see that there was someone waiting for him outside of the room. "Well, well, well, you look so happy to see me Sammy."

"Noelle, what are you doing here? How'd you get in?" It was not even light yet outside and she normally wasn't up at this hour. (Although, he should have realized that no one in the department would sleep well, considering one of their comrades was lying in the hospital fighting for her life.)

"Coming to check on Andy and to see how you are doing. I just showed them my badge, works like a charm."

He glared at her and then sat down next to her. He was still puzzled about her comment from yesterday. "How long have you known about me and Andy?"

"Since before you two actually got together." When he glanced at her in confusion, she elaborated. "Since retraining day to be exact. You brought her coffee, didn't you? And then you went after Callaghan on the mat. You are just lucky that Frank was so into making sure everything went smoothly on his first day and Oliver wasn't there or they would have both been on your case."

"So why weren't you?"

"Biding my time. Besides, as I said yesterday, you've kept my secrets. To be honest, I think that Jerry and Oliver already suspect."

"Why do you think that?"

"Oliver already gave you the rookie speech; he told me the night he did it. Jerry called me last night."

Sam looked at her, confused. "Why?"

"He said you were hiding something but he didn't want to call you out in front of the rookies. I think he has been with Traci since the phone call or he would have called you already." She watched his expression carefully.

"I don't want people to know."

"That bad?"

"She doesn't remember it and yeah."

"Spill Sammy."

He would not have told Jerry about this (because Jerry was likely to tell Traci) but he knew Noelle would not tell anyone. "Last night she had a reaction of some sort. She was screaming my name and the nurses couldn't restrain her. I ran in and she didn't even notice me. She stopped screaming when I kissed her and then the nurses were able to give her sedatives."

Noelle whistled softly. "I see why you don't want people to know. You said she didn't remember. You spoke to her?"

Sam nodded. "She woke up a little while ago and told me her side of the story. She walked into the alley and was ambushed. There were two in front of her and she said there were at least two behind her." He stopped.

"And she knows that because…"

"One shot at her and one stopped to try to help her, only to be pulled away."

Noelle looked at him. "Then the kid was telling the truth."

He looked at her. "How about you tell me how your interviews went yesterday when I left the barn."

She quickly filled him in on the interviewing of the four men. She gauged his reaction and was glad that he was not at the station during the interviews because there was no telling what he would have done. They sat in silence for a minute and then she spoke again. "Frank's livid."

Sam glanced at her. "Why?"

"No one called him. With everything going on, we all forgot. He's returning today and has this to deal with now."

Sam sighed. "I'll go in and talk to him later."

Noelle shook her head. "He doesn't blame you. For all purposes she is your rookie and he saw that Boyko ordered you to stay and is giving you the day off. The rest of us however…" she trailed off.

"That's why I'll go talk to him. I'll remind him of what goes on when something like this occurs and how it affects everyone. I've got your back."

Noelle smiled. "Thanks Sam."

He looked at her. "You still have a few hours before shift starts. Andy's asleep. Go home and try to get some rest."

Noelle stood. "Sammy, you need to sleep too."

"I know." He made a shooing motion and watched her retreating figure until she stepped into the elevator.

When she was gone, he returned to Andy's side. He knew the nurse was finished because he had seen her walk out while he was talking with Noelle.

Suddenly exhausted, Sam fell asleep and woke up two hours later, feeling refreshed. He poured a cup of water, knowing Andy would probably wake up soon, as the doctor walked in.

The doctor removed the IV tube and looked at Sam. "Everything looks good. I want to keep her off her feet for a few days and then she can start physical therapy. Just try to keep her movements to the minimum. I don't want her to rip out her stitches again." He nodded to Sam and then left.

* * *

_Up next: Possible trouble in paradise?_

A.N. Please Review. Your comments are really helpful!


	12. Revelations of the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted.

Just a quick thing – for my purposes, all the episodes happened but episode 12 was like a step up – they no longer have to ride with their training officers but are still considered rookies and periodically ride with their T.O.s. And, episode 11 happened but Andy's father was not able to keep sober…

_Italics = thoughts_

_Hope you enjoy!

* * *

_True to the doctor's words, within the hour, he saw Andy stirring. He sat, watching her, until she opened her eyes. "Morning sunshine." He handed her the cup.

She ignored the straw and drank normally. When she was done, she placed the cup on the bedside table and looked at him. "You owe me information."

Sam sat down in the chair beside her bed. "I spoke to you and called it in. I got there after Shaw and Epstein. Some lady with a baby told me that a woman had been shot in the alley. I thought maybe you went to help the woman so I went with the lady and found you." He stopped, as images flooded his memory.

"Were you scared?"

"Andy, I have never been more afraid in my life." He would never admit this to anyone but her. "I kept pleading with you to stay with me." He took a deep breath. "I went with you in the ambulance. While you were in the OR I went back to the barn to talk to Boyko and change. They caught the guys who shot you while I was there. Williams and Shaw interrogated them." He stopped. There was nothing more to tell her. He glanced at the bed and saw that she was not looking at him; in fact, she was looking everywhere but at him. He began to panic. "Andy, what's wrong?"

While Sam was talking, Andy was thinking hard. Sam had obviously not understood the significance of the alley. She was half listening while bracing herself for what was to come.

_Flashback_

_When she met Jake in grade 10, she fell hard for him. He seemed to love her just as much. She couldn't believe it. For all the bad luck she had had with her mother leaving and her father drinking, she found true love in the first man she dated. She wouldn't be like those characters in books who took years to find true love._

_At the beginning of grade 11, she and Jake were supposed to go on a date to some fancy restaurant with his family. She was all excited, but her plans flew out the window when she reached her dad's apartment. He was on the floor, passed out, and she couldn't wake him. Panicking, she called 9-1-1._

_When they stabilized her father, she called Jake to cancel. He was livid and told her that he should come before her father since they would spend their life together. When she said she couldn't go, he had broken up with her over the phone._

_To save herself from further heartache after the whole debacle with Jake, she had only gone out with the bad boys. With them, she knew that either he or she would break the relationship before it got too serious._

_That had changed when she became a rookie of the 15__th__ division._

_End Flashback_

She had not even told Traci about Jake. She took a deep breath, not looking at Sam. This was going to be hard, but she had to tell him the truth, even if it meant him walking out of her life. "Sam, I didn't listen to your order." She still wasn't looking at him but she saw a twitch out of the corner of her eye and held up her hand, still not looking at him. "Hear me out. You told me to find someplace safe. But, I couldn't leave my father. I went into the alley because I knew that I could get into his apartment through the fire escape. The neighbors don't care; I've done it before when he didn't answer." This was the point where he was going to realize that her father was more important to her than anything and he would leave. As much as she had told her father she couldn't do it anymore, he was her father and she was his little girl. She couldn't begrudge Sam; it was her fault after all.

The silence was deafening. She wanted him to leave, so she could cry over him in peace and then seriously contemplate whether she had what it took to be a cop.

Sam sat in silence, waiting for her to say more. When she stayed silent, the pieces started falling together. Her past had been fraught with 'the wrong guys' as she called them. One of them must have done this to her. "Andy, look at me."

Andy refused to lift her head. _Why does he want me to look at him? Can't he just say goodbye (or not) and leave?_

Sam sighed softly and stood up. He knew the doctor would be annoyed but this was about Andy's mental health, which, in his opinion, was just as important as her physical wellbeing. He sat down on the edge of the bed and placed his fingers under her chin, lifting her head so that she was facing him. "Andy, sweetheart, I'm not leaving."

She lifted her eyes to face him and he saw the tears threatening to spill. "You're not?"

Sam pulled her into a hug. "Sweetheart, I almost lost you. I'm not going anywhere." He felt the waterworks begin and he held her close, rubbing her back (not near the wound) gently as the sobs grew louder and louder.

When the sobs became silent, he spoke. "You know, whoever did this to you, I want to find him and tear him apart. You wanted to help your father. He is the only blood relative that you keep in contact with and I can understand that. If it were my sister, I would have done the same. Besides, your training officer is not the best example of following the rules."

Andy pulled away from his embrace to look at him. "You're not mad?"

Sam kissed her forehead gently. "I told you before; the alley was a good location. I would have suggested it, but I thought that if I did you would purposely ignore me."

Andy smiled. "I only did that once, with the shirts."

"I know. We're good?"

Andy nodded and Sam stood up. "Good, because if the doctor comes in, I'm in trouble. He told me to keep your movements to a minimum and I don't think he wanted me to hold you."

"But…"

"All in due time." Sam handed her a glass of water.

* * *

A.N. I don't particularly love this chapter but I wanted a chapter where Andy feels her push to run and Sam informs her that he is not going anywhere. Let me know what you think

_Up next: True to his word, Sam goes back to the station, and, does something that Andy requests._


	13. Doing Something for Me

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted. Sorry this took so long, I've been really busy with school and work but hopefully the next chapter of this will be up shortly, as well as updates for my other stories.

A.N.2: As I explained in the authors note last chapter, Tommy tried meetings but ending up stopping and is drinking again (sorry to disappoint but this idea was formed before episode 11). Also, Traci and Dex tried to work it out - but it did not work and she is back with Jerry (in case you hadn't figured it out from earlier chapters)

_Italics = thoughts_

_Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Within the hour, the doctor had come and gone and Andy received calls from Traci, Dov, and Chris. Sam had stayed silent throughout each of her conversations, content to sit at the edge of the bed and stroke her hair gently. He needed to be in close contact, to remind himself that she was still alive.

Andy was happy that Sam was with her. She was afraid of being alone now, not that she would tell him that. She hung up with Traci (who had just called her for the second time) and yawned.

Sam looked at her. "Try to sleep."

"Sam?" she asked in a small voice. "Will you do me two favors?"

The normally cautious Sam Swarek didn't even hesitate. "Whatever you need."

She pointed to her purse and he brought it over. She rummaged through it, muttering that she would have to find a new purse since hers no longer had a strap and handed him her apartment key. "Can you ask Traci to go to my apartment and bring me some clothes?"

Sam looked at her. "I can do that!"

"Rules Sam" Andy hissed at him.

"Right" he looked annoyed "what was the other favor?"

"Can you," she swallowed "once I've fallen asleep, can you go tell my father? I want him to hear from someone in person."

Sam nodded as the door opened and a nurse walked in with more pain killers. Sam gave Andy a cup of water and then stayed with her until she fell asleep.

When he was sure she was asleep, he kissed her forehead and then left the hospital.

Sam's first stop was Staff Sergeant Best's office. Frank showed him in right away. "Sam."

"Is this personal or professional?"

"A little bit of both."

"Frank, you can't blame people for not calling you yesterday. Remember the Babalacco case? The homicide guy was out because his wife just had a baby. Remember his reaction when he came in the next day? He heard it on the news. You at least read it in the files and didn't hear it from a news reporter."

Frank Best sighed. "You are right." He looked at some of the files on his desk. "Sammy, I need you back on the job. I am giving Nash off tomorrow and she is going to stay with McNally tonight. Boyko left a note in the file not to ask her father for some reason."

Sam nodded. "Personal issues. What about after tomorrow?"

"I want to speak to her doctor and see what he says. It could be that she will be fine alone." He paused, looking carefully at Sam. "I know you are her training officer and care about her but I am already down one member of my force and I really can't afford to lose more."

Sam nodded and left the office. He saw that Traci was at the front desk. _Smart move, considering that she probably didn't sleep at all last night._ He walked up to the desk. "Message from McNally."

Traci looked up. She had not seen him leave Best's office.

Sam plunked the key on the desk. "She wants you to go to her apartment and bring her some clothes. She doesn't exactly like the hospital gowns."

Traci nodded and slipped the key into her purse. She would drop by Andy's apartment on her way to the hospital.

Sam leaned closer. "Nash," he said softly "who is watching your son tonight?"

Traci stiffened. "Wh-wha-what do you mean?"

Sam glared at her. "After the whole division found out you had a son, I asked McNally. I know you have full custody and Dex gets him every other weekend. If you are with her, who is watching your son?"

Traci looked down. She didn't want to answer the question.

Sam was not taking it from her. "Nash, you have ten seconds to answer my question truthfully or I am taking you into Best's office and explaining to him exactly why you should not be with Andy tonight. Someone needs to watch your son."

Traci did not meet his eye. She knew she had to tell him. "Jerry" she finally murmured.

Sam stared at her for a long minute. "And you couldn't just tell me this because…"

"It is still not totally a public thing. I don't want him to get in trouble."

Sam laughed. "I guessed my first day back. Listen" he lowered his voice "tell your son that if Jerry gives him trouble he should call me." He winked at her and then left the building, her laughter ringing in his ears.

* * *

As he drove to his next stop, his heart began racing. He struggled to push the memories of yesterday out of his mind as he pulled into a spot near Tommy McNally's apartment. _Behind the building was where Andy had been, lying on the ground in a pool of blood._

Steeling himself, he got out of the car. A woman happened to be leaving the building and let him in when he told her he was going to see Tommy.

He knocked on the door. Tommy answered, obviously drunk. "Sam Swarek, what brings you here?"

"Can I come in Tommy?"

Tommy held the door opened and motioned for Sam to come in. Tommy closed the door and then he gestured to the couch. The two men sat down.

Sam took a deep breath. "Mr. McNally, yesterday Andy was injured."

Tommy looked at him. "But she's okay, she's a McNally."

Sam sighed. "She will be okay but yesterday it was touch and go for a while."

Tommy nodded. "Tell her to come visit some time. I haven't seen her in a while."

Sam's eyes grew wide as he realized that Tommy was not comprehending his words. He made small talk as he discreetly looked around for a piece of paper. He found paper and a pen near where he was sitting. He picked it up and penned a quick note:

_Mr. McNally,_

_Andy was injured yesterday outside of this apartment complex._

_She will be fine but she has a long recovery road ahead of her._

_She wanted to make sure that you knew._

_Sincerely,_

_Andy's T.O._

Sam made a few more nonsense comments to Tommy's nonsense questions and then stood to leave. He knew that Tommy would eventually find the note and_ let him figure out who Andy's T.O. was_.

Sam slipped into Andy's room just as she was waking up. "Back already?"

He kissed her. "You've been sleeping for a long time. Listen, Traci is going to stay with you tonight as per Frank's orders."

Andy nodded. "I wish it were you but I understand. What about my father?"

Sam sighed. "He was out of it. I tried to talk to him and I left him a note."

Andy sighed. She wasn't surprised. "Thank you for trying."

Sam kissed her forehead. "I can stay for a little while but I want to leave before Traci comes."

Andy nodded and patted the bed. "I don't care what the doctor said…"

Sam took Andy in his arms and the two sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

A.N. Reviews make my day so please push that little button and review!


	14. Establishing a Routine

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted.

A.N. 2: _Sigh, school work has taken over AGAIN!_

_Italics = thoughts_

_Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

The doctor came and gave Andy another dose of pain medication. Andy looked at Sam after she swallowed the pills. "You should go after I fall asleep."

Sam kissed her forehead. "Wouldn't dream of leaving before you were asleep."

Andy smiled drowsily. She held Sam's hand in her own, holding onto it as if it were her lifeline, until she drifted off.

Sam waited a few minutes to make sure she was asleep and then he kissed her softly on the lips. "Sleep well sweetheart." With a backwards glance at her when he reached the door, he left. He didn't want to, but he knew he had work tomorrow.

Sam went straight home. He knew he should have stopped by the Black Penny but he was, truthfully, exhausted. The second he reached his house, he turned off his cell phone._ If Andy needed to speak to him in the middle of the night, she had his home phone number._ With that thought, he fell onto his bed and was asleep within seconds, without bothering to change.

* * *

Traci arrived at the hospital an hour after Sam left. With her was a small suitcase of clothing for Andy. A nurse showed her into Andy's room. Traci found a place to stow the suitcase and a few items she had brought with her before going to find the doctor.

The report from the doctor was good. Andy was recovering nicely and would probably sleep for the whole night. He offered a small cot for Traci to sleep on and she accepted. She was glad that Frank Best had chosen her. She needed to make sure for herself that Andy was really okay and tomorrow she would be able to spend the whole day with her son.

* * *

Sam woke to the ringing of the phone._ I thought I turned it off_. Then he realized it was the house phone and it was light outside. Then he remembered. He had not slept at home in the longest time so no alarms were set. "Hello?"

"Sam! Your cell phone is off."

He sat up. "Andy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Traci's gone and I was wondering if you were going to come before shift."

Sam looked at the clock. "Sorry. I forgot that I have no alarms set at home. Tell you what, I'll stop by after Parade."

"What if you have a partner today?"

"Relax. We're down two rookies. He is not going to give me a partner. I have to go but I'll see you later."

Sam hung up the phone and jumped into the shower. When he came out, he grabbed his cell phone and keys and headed out.

When he turned his cell phone on, he saw he had ten text messages and two voice messages from Andy. Smiling, he read through them/listened to them and then headed to work.

* * *

Sure enough, Frank had him going solo. His first stop was to visit Andy and talk to her doctor.

The doctor saw Sam and followed him into the room. "Okay, Ms. McNally."

"Andy" she automatically corrected him.

"Andy then. Today I want you to stay in bed. Starting tomorrow we are going to start with physical therapy."

Andy looked at him. "Why exactly do I need physical therapy?"

The doctor studied her. "You notice that we are not letting you walk at all? The way the bullets hit you and you fell, you might have to relearn how to walk again. Right now we are limiting your movements to give your body time to heal. You will probably be shuffling in the beginning. That is the nature of the surgery."

Andy turned to Sam. He had been standing near the bed listening silently. When he saw her face, he sat down next to her and put an arm around her. "Everyone will be here to encourage you."

Andy burst into tears. "What if I can't walk? What if my career is over?"

Sam looked at the doctor, eyes pleading with him.

"Andy" she looked at the doctor "you will be able to walk. We have to take things slowly. We need to let your body heal and then you can go back to work. If you have to relearn to walk, it will take a little more time but you _will_ return to work if you want to." The doctor stood up. "I have other patients but if you have any more questions, I will be back later." He left the room.

Sam held Andy and let her cry, whispering soothing words. Eventually, she ran out of tears. "Sam," she whispered "what is going to happen? I won't be back in a month and then I won't become a full cop."

Sam looked at her. "When your rookie year is up, Best makes decisions about each rookie together with headquarters. Boyko will speak for you, so will most of the cops in 15th. There have been injured rookies before. DON'T worry about it."

He would have said more but Andy's cell phone rang, causing them both to jump. Sam handed it to Andy. "Hello?" she pushed the speaker button, motioning for Sam to stay quiet.

Sam slipped off of the bed and poured a glass of water for Andy as the caller's voice came through. "Andrea, what is going on? I got a note from your T.O. saying you are injured."

Andy accepted the glass from Sam and took a sip before answering. "I am."

"Where are you?"

Andy rolled her eyes. "In the hospital. Honestly Dad, I don't want to see you unless you are sober."

Sam placed his hand on her shoulder, silently giving her his support. He knew how hard this was for her but having a drunk father there would only make it worse.

"I am going to kick it this time for real Andy. And I am coming to see you."

Andy looked at Sam. She wasn't ready for this. "Tomorrow" he mouthed.

Andy nodded. "Dad, come tomorrow. The doctor wants me to try to sleep and heal today."

Her father agreed and hung up.

"Tomorrow?" she asked Sam.

"If he drinks again, he won't remember this conversation."

Andy nodded. "Thank you Sam, for everything."

Sam smiled. "Try to sleep. You need to heal." He turned to leave.

"You're leaving?" she began to panic.

Sam moved to her side. "Andy, sweetheart" he touched her cheek and she looked into his eyes and saw the depths of his love for her "I have to work. I wish I didn't have to go. I will come back later."

* * *

The next day a routine was formed. Sam would come visit Andy before shift and bring her breakfast. Within an hour of his leaving for work, her father would come. He would stay with her throughout the day and accompany her to physical therapy.

Throughout the day, various members of the force would stop by to visit her. It made her day more bearable, especially their encouragement.

When visiting hours were over, her father would leave. Sam would come after his shift was finished (the hospital staff bent the rules for him) and stay with her until she fell asleep.

Each night, Andy fell asleep with Sam's hand in her own, thinking about how wonderful it was that her father had not touched the bottle since he sobered up after her accident.

* * *

A.N. I don't particularly love this chapter but it is a segway into the later chapters (in which I have partially formed ideas about right now…). Let me know what you think and if there is anything in particular that you want to see – I'll try to work it into my storyline if possible.

Reviews make my day and encourage me to continue so please push that little button at the bottom of your screen.


	15. A Hard Day

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted. Sorry it took me so long to update - writer's block is really annoying.

A.N. I changed one thing in the last chapter – originally Andy said she wouldn't be ready to return in two months to become a full fledged cop – I changed it to a month because I realized that my time line was dragging everything out.

_Italics = thoughts_

_Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

This takes place about three weeks after the end of last chapter.

Sam was paired with Nash for the day. He wished it were Andy, he wished she were back already, but Nash was a solid cop and he refused to take Peck or Epstein. Noelle decided that Diaz needed some hard-ass garbage so she took him for the day.

He had been driving around for over an hour when he phone rang. Sam flipped his phone opened, surprised at the caller. "Swarek."

"Sam, please, he's drunk" came a whispered whimper. "I'm scared."

"On our way." He hung up and flipped the lights.

Traci glanced at him. "Where are we going?"

"That was McNally."

"Her father is supposed to be with her today." _He is always with her so what is going on?_

_Duh! _"He's drunk."

"So…"

"So, he came to the hospital and they let him in. Andy called, she is scared."

"She's freaking out you mean."

Sam didn't say anything. When they were a minute away from the hospital, he spoke. "I'm going to go in. Park the car and when you come in, find out where you can make tea for her father."

"Sir, what are you going to do?"

"Make him get away from her. Nothing more." He swung into the hospital parking lot and hopped out.

* * *

He took the stairs two at a time. When he reached the floor Andy was on, he began an all-out sprint.

The head nurse met him by the nurses station. "I don't know what happened. He won't let us in."

Sam nodded. "My partner is parking the car and then she is coming up. Keep the rest of the patients calm and make sure the doctor is nearby." They reached Andy's room. Sam pulled out his gun and made sure his clip was not in his gun before turning the handle.

"Tommy McNally, move away from her now" he commanded in an authoritative voice. He had his gun aimed at Andy's father.

The man slowly backed away from Andy and Sam moved closer. "Sit on the chair." He motioned for a chair behind Tommy.

"Sam" Andy hissed.

He didn't look at her. Instead, he moved one hand from the gun and reached into his pocket. He dropped the contents of his pocket (his gun clip) onto the bed and then took a step away.

Andy saw that Sam had not loaded his gun and stopped protesting. He was just trying to protect her.

Traci came into the room slowly, with a cup of tea. Sam motioned to her and then turned his back to Andy's father and faced Andy. "I'm sorry."

She handed him his clip. "Thank you." She had tears in her eyes.

"McNally, are you okay?" he asked softly as he returned the clip to its rightful place. When Andy nodded but did not speak, he knew she was lying. He sighed and turned away from her to see how Nash was holding up.

Traci was convincing Tommy McNally that they should move into the hallway. When they reached the door, the doctor met them and escorted Tommy outside.

Traci made her way to Andy's bed.

"McNally" Sam was saying as she approached. "He's gone and I know that you are lying. What happened?"

"Nothing."

Traci tried. "Andy, you are lying."

Andy shook her head.

Sam studied her face for a second and then placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face. He saw a small bruise on her cheek. "Nothing?" He glanced down and saw that her hands were on her stomach. He swiftly pulled up her shirt.

Traci was shocked. _How could he just do that?_ Then, she saw what Andy had been hiding.

"He hit you. Andy, two inches over and he would have hit the spot where you were wounded."

"Sam, please" she pleaded with him "he is my father and I don't want anything to happen to him."

Sam looked at Traci for a second before turning back to Andy. "If we don't report this will you let the doctor look at you?"

Andy nodded.

"Nash, go see if her father is ready to be taken home. You will drive him home in his car and I will swing by to get you."

Traci nodded and left. Sam watched her until the door closed behind her. "Andy," he sat on the bed "talk to me."

Andy looked at him and shook her head. She leaned closer to him. He kissed her gently but quickly pulled away. "Nash could walk back in."

"Tell me what happened."

Andy quickly explained. When she was done, Sam touched her gently. "Listen, I am going to find the doctor. He needs to make sure you are okay."

Sam went to the nurses station and asked for the doctor. The head nurse guided him to a small office. Sam wasted no time with pleasantries. "Listen, she didn't want to tell me that her father touched her because she doesn't want anything to happen to him. Can you check her and not report her father touching her?"

The doctor nodded. "She's a good person. She cares about him a lot. It will be detrimental to her recovery not to listen to her wishes."

Sam smiled. "Thank you. If there are any problems, you have my number."

Sam left the office and headed to Andy's room. One of the nurses stopped him. "The other officer with you left five minutes ago to bring Ms. McNally's father home. She said to pass along a message that she would meet you there."

Sam nodded and left the hospital.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, he was waiting outside the apartment building where Andy's father lived. He had already been there for a few minutes and was wondering why Nash was taking so long. As if guided by his thoughts, Nash exited the building and got into the car. "Sorry. It took a while to settle him down." She looked at her training officer. "What happened at the hospital between him and Andy?"

Sam sighed as he pulled out of the parking spot he was occupying. He hated being in this area, memories of the day Andy was shot were flooding his mind. They were four blocks away when he glanced at Nash, finally able to talk. "McNally's father has been sober since he sobered up and found out about her injury. Evidently yesterday was a hard day at physical therapy (_that is something I need to talk to Andy about because she didn't tell me until today_) and he must have hit the bottle pretty hard last night. When he went to visit Andy, he seemed to think she was the physical therapist and he wanted to hurt her because she hurt his daughter."

"That's a mess."

"A big one."

"What are we going to do? Don't we have to report it?"

"No. Frank owes me some favors so I will tell him about it but we are not filing any paperwork. It will be detrimental to Andy's health if we do, at least, according to the doctor." Traci would not argue. He silently thanked the doctor for that information.

* * *

Later in the day, Sam called the hospital to check on Andy. They told her that she was in the middle of physical therapy and she seemed fine. He was still worried about her, but, with Nash in the car, he was not going to do anything.

* * *

That evening, he arrived a little late at the hospital. The doctor met him. "We moved her to a different room. We also gave her a sedative so she is already asleep. She wanted to wait up for you but…"

"You forced her to go to sleep. Good." Sam interrupted the doctor. "I was worried about her and I didn't think she would be able to sleep tonight." He started to leave and then turned around. "If she wakes up can you deliver a message?"

The doctor looked surprised but nodded. "Of course."

"Tell her that if she needs anything she should call my land line." With that, he walked out, with the intention of going home, turning off his cell phone and crawling into bed. _It was a long day today._

_

* * *

_

Up next: Sam gets a phone call...

A.N. Please review and let me know what you think!


	16. Middle of the Night

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted.

_Italics = thoughts_

_Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Sam jolted awake when the landline rang. As he fumbled for the phone, he glanced at the clock. "Do you know what time it is?"

"One-thirty a.m. Very well aware Sammy."

Sam groaned. "Monica…"

"Don't you dare hang up!"

Sam considered doing it anyway but, in all honesty, he owed her the courtesy of not slamming the phone. "Make it quick."

"We have plenty of staff rules at the hospital. No dating patients, no dating interns, new nurses, etcetera, etcetera."

Sam was in no mood to listen to this. "So what?"

"Sam, sometimes rules are meant to be broken. I know that you have similar rules at the station but you still love Andy."

Sam sighed. He had no idea what she was hinting to.

"Sammy, after the incident today the doctor moved Andy to a new room. No one from your division knows where she is so no one will know if you come."

"But she's asleep. The doctor told me he gave her sedatives."

"Do you remember the last time he gave her these specific sedatives?"

Suddenly Sam had a really bad feeling. "What happened to Andy?"

"The intern was the one who actually gave her the medicine and he didn't look at her file. He will be reprimanded. The doctor didn't know but he placed a monitor in her room so if she woke up, a nurse would go in even if she did not hit the button. Sam, the nurse is going in every fifteen to twenty minutes because she keeps calling out for you."

"What do you want?"

"Come to the hospital. Stay with her tonight. No one will tell. You can trust us because we haven't said anything yet. The nurse is getting tired of interrupting whatever she is doing to constantly check on Andy. She can't give the other patients the care they deserve."

"What?"

"Sammy, just come. At the front desk, ask them to page me." She hung up.

Sam jumped out of bed. _Andy!_ He quickly threw on the clothes that he had prepared for the next day, throwing an extra tee-shirt into his bag.

He grabbed his cell phone and car keys on the way out. It was too risky to take his truck; that was more noticeable than his car.

* * *

Sam arrived at the hospital in record timing. He asked for Monica and flashed his police badge. The security guard waved him through.

Sam hurried up to the floor that Andy was on. Monica met him by the elevators. "It just happened about five minutes ago." She led him to a secluded room and then left.

Sam took a deep breath and quietly opened the door. The room was set up a little differently than the last one but the bed was still in the middle of the room.

He looked at the woman lying in the bed. She was so beautiful in her sleep. He set his bag gently on the floor and pulled a chair next to her bed. He wanted to reach out, to touch her, but he was afraid of waking her.

Instead, he sat by her bedside, the voices within him warring. On the one hand, he wanted her to wake up, he wanted to hold her. On the other hand, he wished that she would stay asleep so she could heal.

His inner debate ended abruptly when she began to toss and turn. He watched her for a second, debating on what to do, when she began to cry out for him.

"Sam, Sam, Sam…"

He stood from the chair and sat down on the edge of the bed; gently brushing her cheek. "Sh, Andy, I'm right here."

Andy's eyes flew opened. She pulled him down and captured him in a kiss.

Sam didn't resist. When he broke the kiss for air, she clearly wasn't done and quickly removed his shirt.

The cool air hitting his chest reminded Sam where they were. "Andy" he whispered "not here."

She looked at him, confusion in her eyes.

"Andy, sweetheart, when you are out of the hospital and healed. Not before then." His tone was firm.

Andy looked at him. "Just hold me" she whispered.

Sam pulled Andy into his arms and stroked her hair gently. Within seconds she was asleep.

Sam contemplated while he waited for Andy to wake again. Monica told him that it was like clockwork.

After an hour, Sam realized that Andy was safely in his arms and was not going to wake up from nightmares. He allowed himself to relax and soon drifted off.

* * *

Andy woke in the morning feeling content. She was comfortable for the first time since she was shot. She shifted slightly and frowned. _When had Sam come?_

Sam woke when she shifted. He opened his eyes and saw that she was awake. "Morning sunshine" he kissed her gently but passionately.

"When did you get here?" she asked when they broke for air.

Sam looked at her. "You really don't remember?"

From his tone, Andy thought he was mad at her. She looked down at her hands. "Remember what?"

"Andy" he placed his fingers under her chin and gently pushed so that he could look into her eyes "last night you kept having nightmares. Eventually, Monica called me and told me to come." He grinned at her. "You tried to seduce me."

Andy blushed. "I don't remember…"

Sam kissed her, effectively silencing her. "It's okay." He pushed her away and climbed out of the bed. "As much as I would love to spend all day with you in my arms, I have to go to work."

Andy stayed put as she watched him move to the corner of the room, where he had left his bag. He gathered his things and then returned to her side. "I'll be back later." He kissed her again and then left, leaving her alone with her thoughts about what could have possibly happened and why she didn't remember Sam coming last night.

* * *

When Sam arrived at the station, he headed straight to Frank's office. He was surprised to see Noelle sitting at the desk. "Where's Frank?"

Noelle looked up. "Headquarters. He and Callaghan have a meeting there today. Who do you want to ride with today?"

"Alone, please?"

Noelle studied him for a long minute. "Traci told me what happened yesterday. If it's something urgent, I'll call your cell." She wasn't stupid; she knew exactly where Sam was going to go. "Just stay for Parade, please."

* * *

A.N. Reviews make my day and I want to hear your opinions - the meeting at headquarters had to do with Andy, although Sam has not realized it yet. Do people want to read it or should I just stick to a summary of it in a later chapter when characters interact?

This story will hopefully be complete soon (although the characters have taken the story out of my hands because I thought this was going to be 10 chapters at most...)

Please review!


	17. Pieces Coming Together

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted. This chapter should probably be split into 2 but I want to keep this story under 20 chapters and I didn't want a chapter with no Sam/Andy action. As of now, it looks like 2 more chapters and then possibly an epilogue.

_Italics = thoughts_

_Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Frank Best pulled up to the headquarters building and sighed. This meeting was for all of the staff sergeants of the divisions that had received rookies almost one year ago. He was going to be the only new sergeant there and he would not know anyone. At least Boyko and Callaghan would be present by the meeting so he wouldn't be totally lost.

Frank entered the room and saw Luke. Luke discreetly motioned for him as to which chair to take. Many of the other seats were occupied and he quickly found a few other sergeants to talk to. When Elaine Peck walked into the room and began the meeting, he looked around. All of the sergeants were sitting while many of the detectives, like Luke, were leaning against the walls of the room. The detectives were in and out of the room all day.

The meeting went by pretty quickly for Frank, probably because he was new (everyone else seemed bored). It was basically a run through of all of the tests the rookies would take within the next two weeks. He remembered his own tests like it was yesterday. There was a written "what would you do" test that gave you a bunch of scenarios, as well as a trip to the shooting range. The last test was a physical test where each rookie had to go through an obstacle course.

Going over the written test took most of the morning. They broke for lunch and then resumed the meeting to go through the shooting range and the physical test.

When they finished, Elaine Peck stood up. "And now, the last part of the agenda. Are there any divisions with injured rookies who will not be able to take these tests?"

Frank raised his hand.

Elaine Peck smiled at him. "Sergeant Best, you are new here. The way it works when a rookie is injured is you give us information about her and then as a whole we decide whether or not she should be given the status of a full fledged cop before she has taken the tests." Frank did not miss the fact that Elaine kept saying "she". Many of the rookies from this year were men, so she knew exactly who Frank was talking about.

Frank rose from his chair. "One of my rookies, Andy McNally, was injured a few weeks ago after calling in an emergency, on her day off."

One of the men sitting two seats down from Elaine stopped him. "Andy McNally, as in Tommy's daughter?"

Frank nodded. "Yes. She is an asset to 15th. On her first day she found and arrested a gunman." He saw Callaghan and Boyko exchange smirks; it was also the day she brought down their undercover man. "A few weeks later, she made a rookie mistake and forgot to load her gun. She was able to talk her way out of a potential dangerous situation with no casualties." Luke had warned him that he should also mention that Andy made mistakes and was not perfect.

As he paused for breath, Luke spoke up. "McNally was instrumental in several homicide cases as well. She convinced the witness to operate so I could obtain the bullet in the Kraker case. She also persisted and found out what happened to the missing girls from Garrison Park. After the pedophile drew a gun and she was forced to shoot him, we uncovered five bodies; five cold cases solved."

Luke nodded at Frank. Frank knew what he should mention next, but with both of the senior Pecks in the room, he would skip it. "I know that Detective Barber called some of you when we were looking for Rebecca Lee. McNally was able to convince the mother to talk. Once the mother talked, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place and we were able to return the girl successfully to her parents." He skipped over the fact that she was the only one to pass her recertification on the first go around since he did not want to upset the Pecks. "And finally, she saved her partner's life when she and Swarek went undercover together during the drug bust where Bergen and the Landrys were arrested."

One of the detectives from 17th spoke up. "Swarek, as in Sam Swarek?" At Frank's nod he continued. "He went back undercover?"

Boyko interrupted. "You can discuss this later. The facts that Sergeant Best just gave you are the highlights. McNally is a solid cop and good at her job. She is devoted to her fellow officers and always backs them up."

Elaine Peck stood. "I believe that is all. All in favor of McNally passing with the rest of her group even though she will not take the tests until she is fully recovered raise your hand."

Frank raised his hand and then looked around the room. Every hand in the room went up and from the murmuring, everyone had heard of McNally.

Elaine Peck smiled. "Sergeant Best, stop in my office on your way out. We will meet again in three weeks and discuss any weaknesses and what to do if any of the rookies did not pass." She stood and left, flanked by some of the other higher ups.

The man who originally asked Frank if Andy was Tommy's daughter came up to him. "Sergeant Best, how's Andy? What exactly happened?"

Frank sighed. "She is doing better. She was caught at the wrong place at the wrong time and was shot twice while off duty." He pulled out his pad and scribbled her information down (not realizing she had changed rooms). "You can visit her if you would like, she's really bored at the hospital."

The man accepted the sheet and left.

Frank made it to the door before the man from 17th stopped him. He smiled and answered all of the man's questions about Sam going undercover with Andy while inwardly wondering when he was going to be able to get back to his station.

By the time he finished, the regular shift was already out of the building. He went into his office and sorted through the reports Noelle had left on his desk.

* * *

Sam entered the hospital and walked up to Andy's room. The one advantage to being in a uniform was that no one thought to stop him.

Andy was standing by the window, looking out. She didn't move when he walked in. When he gently touched her, she leaned back into his embrace. "I want to get out of here. I want to sleep in my own bed."

He kissed her cheek. "I know sweetheart." The doctor told her that had not released her because she was still in pain and having trouble walking. But after last night, he realized that he missed her and wanted to wake up beside her every morning. He had done a lot of thinking about the subject and hoped to catch the doctor and talk to him about releasing Andy. He knew the real reason the doctor had not released her yet was because she lived "alone" and in an apartment building but hopefully his words would convince the doctor.

Andy would have said more but there was a knock at the door. A woman with brown hair walked in. Sam absently noticed that she was a few centimeters shorter than Andy as the woman spoke. "Hi Andy. It's time for physical therapy."

Andy nodded. "Sam, this is Karen Carleon, my physical therapist. Karen, this is Officer Sam Swarek."

Sam stuck out a hand. "Call me Sam."

Karen smiled and shook his hand. "Only if you call me Karen."

Introductions made, Andy gently pulled Sam's hand and followed after Karen to the room where she had physical therapy.

.

Karen noticed the difference right away. Sam was there for Andy in a way that Andy's father had never been. If Andy hesitated, Sam coaxed her into completing the exercise. When her nerve totally seemed to fail in the middle of another exercise, her goaded her into completing in. But most of all, he was her silent cheerleader. Any time there was a fraction of hesitation, he called her name softly. That alone seemed to bolster her confidence.

She was in the middle of the last exercise when she just stopped. Sam called her name softly and she looked at him, tears pooling in her eyes. "I can't Sam, I just can't." The tears began falling.

Sam glanced at Karen, who nodded. He walked over to Andy and gathered her close, whispering words of comfort. When he looked at Karen, she motioned to a couch at the far end of the room and then held up two fingers, signaling that she was giving them a few minutes alone.

When she returned, Andy was a little calmer but was still curled in Sam's arms, clinging to him as if she never wanted to let go. Andy looked up. "I'm sorry."

Karen smiled. "Andy, you did an amazing job today. You made more progress today than you did in the previous four days combined. Tomorrow we are going to take it a little slower." She watched as a small smile appeared on Andy's face. "Do you want the wheelchair to get back to your room?"

Andy looked at Sam for a second. "No, I'll be okay." Sam helped her stand and the two slowly made their way back to Andy's room.

As soon as the door to Andy's room closed behind them, Sam scooped her up and brought her to the bed. He set her down gently. "Sleep sweetheart." He handed her two pills and a glass of water that were placed on the table by her bed.

Andy swallowed the pain medication and handed him back the glass before looking at him. "You going?" She knew he should not have been at the hospital in the first place but she didn't want him to leave.

"Only when you're asleep and I'll come back later, like always." He stroked her hair gently and soon she was asleep. He kissed her forehead and whispered "I love you" before getting up and leaving the hospital, calling Noelle to let her know he was on his way back.

True to his word, as soon as shift was over, he changed and returned to the hospital and stayed with her until she fell asleep for the night.

* * *

A.N. Reviews make my day so please review!


	18. News

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted.

_Italics = thoughts_

_Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

The next morning Sam began to execute his plan. He had still not spoken to the doctor but he hoped to rectify that. Andy deserved to be out of the hospital and get proper, loving care so she could heal. He knew how much she hated the hospital.

When he glanced at the clock he cursed. If he didn't stop what he was doing and leave, he would not be able to go to the hospital and see Andy before work.

Andy was just waking up when he arrived. "Morning sunshine" he greeted her cheerfully.

"Sam!" she smiled and he leaned in to kiss her.

Eventually, the need for air became too great. "What time is your physical therapy today?" he asked softly.

"Half an hour earlier than yesterday. Karen asked me if we could start early because she has a meeting but doesn't want to short me on time."

Sam sighed. "So then even if I am riding alone, I won't make it."

Andy touched his cheek. "It's okay Sam. Karen said that she is not adding anything today so I should be fine."

Sam placed his hand over hers. "Are you sure? I can call in sick."

Andy glared at him. "Sam Swarek, you will do no such thing! I will be fine alone."

Sam rubbed her hand absently. "Andy, yesterday you burst into tears. What's to stop that from happening again?"

Andy looked at him. "I'm not doing anything new today. I will be fine but you are going to be late if you don't leave now."

Sam looked at her. "Are you kicking me out?"

Andy sat up and reached one hand around his neck to pull him closer. As soon as she could, her lips were on his. When they finally broke she whispered "never."

Sam kissed her forehead. "Alright, I'm going. I'll see you later."

* * *

Sam arrived and barely had enough time to change before dashing to the Parade room. Luckily, Frank was a little late.

When Parade was over, Sam waited for most of the occupants to leave before heading to Frank's office. He was riding alone today and knew that the best time to catch Frank was at the beginning of the day.

He knocked on the door and Frank motioned for him to enter.

* * *

As he and Frank talked, they did not realize that they had two spectators. When Jerry joined them he asked, "so what are the bets?"

Oliver glanced at him for a second before turning back to watch Sam and Frank argue. "I said Sammy's gonna win but Noelle's pulling for Frank."

"My money's on a compromise where neither one is completely satisfied."

* * *

Frank and Sam made their way from Frank's police SUV into the hospital. Sam led the way up to the floor Andy was on. He was about to turn the hall to get to the physical therapy room when one of the nurses stopped him. "Officer Swarek, Ms. McNally is in the physical therapy room one floor down."

Sam looked puzzled but did not ask the question that he wanted to. Instead he asked "is it in the same place?"

The nurse nodded and Sam thanked her before leading Frank back to the elevators.

When they reached the door, Sam stepped back. Frank knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Karen opened the door. "Excuse me, my name is Sergeant Best and I need to speak to Officer McNally for a minute."

Karen opened the door all the way. "Come in Sergeant Best." She looked at Sam and nodded. "Officer Swarek." He nodded back in greeting. "I'll give you some privacy and be back in five minutes." As she brushed past Sam she murmured "she's almost done and she did great today."

Andy was seated on the floor when they walked in. She rose to meet them and led them to an area in the far corner of the room where there was a couch and a chair. She sat on the couch as Frank took the chair and Sam sat on the arm of the couch, right next to her, close, but not touching.

"Andy, you're looking much better."

Andy was startled. She couldn't imagine that Frank Best, the sergeant of her unit, had come all the way to the hospital just to tell her that. "Thank you sir."

Frank smiled. "I'm here because yesterday I was at headquarters and promised that I would deliver this to you." He handed her a manila envelope.

Andy was not surprised at his admission to being at headquarters; one of her father's friends had come to visit her yesterday and mentioned that he found out through her staff sergeant that she had been injured. He had not mentioned anything about a package. She took the package and opened it. Out came a stack of papers. She took the first one and began to read it but it was not long before the words became blurry and she couldn't read. Tears filled her eyes. Karen had said this was normal, she was exhausting herself by pushing to get better but she hated feeling like an invalid.

Frank noticed the tears and immediately became concerned. "Andy what's wrong?"

Sam saw Andy's body tense and placed a hand on her shoulder as he slid from his spot to crouch in front of her. "Andy, talk to me."

She handed him the sheets and then the sobs ripped free from her chest.

Frank looked from Sam to Andy and back. "I'll be back" he whispered to Sam.

As the door closed, Sam gathered Andy into his arms. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" He had an idea of what the papers said, and besides, there was nothing important on the first page that should invoke a reaction such as the one she was having.

"I can't read it Sam. The words are blurry." At his questioning look she said "Karen said it is normal, that right after physical therapy I should wait a little while before picking up a book to read. I don't know what it says."

Keeping one arm around her, Sam picked up the papers. "Do you want me to read the whole thing out loud or should I just tell you the gist of it?"

Andy thought for a second. "The gist of it" she said finally.

"The gist of it is that you passed your rookie year and are being made a full cop even though you are injured" said a voice from the doorway. Neither of the people on the couch had noticed Frank had walked back in. "You will complete your evaluations when you return, but honestly, with your experience, it will be no problem." He sat down opposite the two of them.

Andy smiled as she snuggled closer to Sam. By the fact that Sam hadn't moved when Frank started to talk, she knew that Sam must have said something. "Thank you."

Frank looked at her. "Just heal Andy. You're the best from your year, and you know that. I want you back in the division." He paused and then looked at Sam. "I hope that you will make it to the ceremony a week from Friday even though you are injured."

Andy was confused. He seemed to be talking to Sam and this was the first time anyone had even mentioned something about a ceremony. "What ceremony?"

"Just a little something we do at 15th to mark the change from rookie to officer." He stood up. "Sammy, I need to get back and so do you." He left the room.

Sam kissed Andy's forehead. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Andy wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. "I love you" she whispered.

Sam smiled. "I love you too and I have to leave before Frank leaves without me." He exited the room as Karen reentered.

* * *

A.N. The whole blurry thing happened to someone I know and it was because they were overworking their body.

One more chapter and then the epilogue, I'm swamped with schoolwork but I'll try to get it up as soon as possible.


	19. Going Home

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted. There is just one more chapter (the epilogue) after this.

_Italics = thoughts_

_Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

When Andy woke the next morning, she was surprised that Sam was not there. She didn't want to bother him so she didn't call, hoping that he would call or come by soon. When her door opened, her heart began to race until a woman walked in. It was a nurse Andy had never seen before.

"Well Ms. McNally, it looks like you are getting discharged today. Doctor said you've been here long enough and probably want to go home." She handed Andy a bunch of forms to fill out before leaving with "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Andy grabbed her phone from the table, and hit speed dial. He answered on the first ring. "Hey Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Look, I know that you have work today but can you swing by the hospital and take me home? I'm being released!"

She heard Sam chuckling on the other end. "Of course. What time?"

"As soon as I get these papers signed."

"Don't you have physical therapy today?"

Andy shook her head before remembering he couldn't see her. "No. I only have it five days a week. So, when will you be here?"

She heard Sam checking something. "Fifteen minutes. I love you and I'll see you soon."

Before she could say goodbye he hung up. She quickly filled out the paperwork and began to gather her things. Sam had been taking gifts back to her apartment so she was able to fit all of her personal belongings into the small suitcase Traci brought to her when she had first come to the hospital.

She was so excited to be leaving that she did not even argue with the nurse when the nurse insisted that she sit in a wheelchair. She knew she could have walked but, she was getting out so why did she care?

The nurse wheeled her outside and she began watching for one of the squad cars. She wondered if Sam was partnered with someone or if he was alone. Her speculation turned into confusion as a familiar silver truck pulled up.

Sam exited the car and tossed her bag into the back before turning to her. He dropped a kiss on her forehead and then gently lifted her up and placed her in the passenger seat.

"What? Why are you not in uniform?"

Sam placed a finger on her lips. "Questions later. Right now, let's get out of here."

He kissed her softly before moving to close her door. As he walked around to the driver's side, Andy buckled her seatbelt.

As soon as he was belted and pulled away from the hospital, he expected questions to start flying. He glanced over at Andy when none were forthcoming and realized that she had curled up in the seat and was fast asleep. He smiled to himself and continued to drive, happy to be alone with her, away from the hospital.

When he arrived at his place, he pulled into the driveway and turned off the truck. He grabbed her bag and brought it into the house before going to wake Andy. Part of the reason the doctor had agree to release Andy was because Sam promised that she would not do any steps until the physical therapist said she was ready. He gently unbuckled her and lifted her up into his arms to carry her into the house.

Andy stirred in his arms as he walked up the stairs. "Where are we?" she murmured "Why are you carrying me?"

Sam set her down gently right inside the front hallway. "We're at my place and I promised the doctor that you would not do stairs yet until Karen says you are ready." He closed the front door.

Andy slid her arms around his waist. "So you knew that I was being released today." It wasn't an accusation, it was a statement.

"Yes. I did Love." She wasn't accusing so he was not apologizing.

Andy pushed him against the wall. She had waited long enough. She pushed her body closer to his and kissed him.

Eventually, his need for air was too much so he gently pushed her away from his face. "Andy" he murmured, his voice husky "we have to be careful. I don't want you to get hurt." He wanted her so badly, yet he was afraid that he would hurt her and he knew her wounds still caused her pain.

Andy nodded. She was still confused as to why he was not at work and why they were by his place, not by hers. She caught her breath and then asked her first question. "What happened to going to work today?"

Sam smiled and took her hand, leading her down the hall. "I have a lot of vacation time. I decided that I need a vacation and since you're already off…" he trailed off as Andy shook her head.

"You're unbelievable, you know that?"

Sam smiled. At least she wasn't mad at him, which showed how much she really needed someone to help her. He led her to the empty bedroom on the first floor. He had always talked about making it an office but he never seemed to have the time so the room had been empty since he moved in. He placed his hand on the handle and looked at Andy. "One more surprise."

She looked confused. _What did he do to the bedroom?_ She motioned for him to open the door and gasped.

Sam gently guided her into the room before standing behind her and encircling her body with his arms. It took her a few seconds before she could speak. "Why?"

Sam kissed her forehead. "You kept saying that you wanted to sleep in your own bed. You can't go to your apartment right now because of the stairs and I figured that it was easier to move your bed than to move mine down the stairs."

"Plus, this way I won't leave" she said, turning in his embrace.

"Would you really leave?"

"No" she kissed him again and pushed him towards the bed.

* * *

An hour later, Andy was curled up next to him. "I think I could get used to living in a house" she said with a yawn.

Sam chuckled and dropped a kiss on her forehead as he played with her hair. "I think you could." When he saw her yawn again, he looked down at her. "Andy, sweetheart, you need to sleep."

She wrapped an arm over him and wiggled around to make herself more comfortable. When she stopped moving, her head was on his chest. "Stay with me."

"Always and forever."

* * *

A.N. Reviews make my day so please review! I have one more chapter with this and then I'm going to get back to my other stories (Obeying Orders and possibly Just a Virus).


	20. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/favorite-ed/alerted. Especially those of you who reviewed almost every chapter - your reviews inspired me to finish this story!

A.N.2 - As I finished this chapter I realized that I left some things out so I changed the format of the chapter and used flashbacks. I hope it is not too confusing.

_Italics = thoughts or flashbacks_

_Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

The woman stood, as if in a trance, her eyes fixed on a certain spot a few feet in front of her. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she failed to hear the person come up behind her until his arms were around her. "I thought I told you to go inside while I parked the car" he murmured into her ear.

She leaned back into his embrace. "One year Sam. One year ago, I was lying there, dying."

_Flashback to earlier in the day:_

_ When Sam told her that he requested that they both have today off, she was not surprised. She woke up in the morning and besides for her usual morning sickness, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach. A year ago she had gotten shot and had almost died._

_End Flashback_

She moved her hands to rest on her stomach. She was wearing a fitted shirt and jeans. The bump, which she had successfully hid from her colleagues for the past two weeks, was showing.

Sam moved his hands to rest on top of hers, touching her stomach (something he had been doing a lot lately in the past few weeks) and the two rings that adorned her left ring finger.

As he ran his finger over the small diamond, the corners of his mouth turned up.

_Flashback_

_ Andy was finishing her last physical therapy session. Karen informed her that they had done everything and the rest would come with time. Andy wanted Sam to take her to the station when they finished. Even if she could not work the streets yet, she wanted to get back to work. Even desk work was looking inviting._

_ She was not paying attention as Sam drove. When he stopped, she looked around in surprise. They were at her apartment instead of the station. Sam came around and opened her door before leading her inside._

_ They sat down on the couch. Sam looked at her. "Andy, you did beautifully today. You'll be on the streets in no time."_

_ Andy smiled and curled up next to him. "Thanks Sam, but why did we need to come to my apartment for you to tell me that? I want to go to the station."_

_ Sam kissed her forehead. "I wanted some privacy before we went to the station and your apartment is closer than the house." He slipped out of her hold and knelt in front of her. "Andy McNally, I love you more than anything in this world. Will you marry me?" It did not come out the way he planned, he had a whole speech, but at least the question was out._

_ Andy looked at him, shocked. She stared into his eyes for a second before throwing her arms around him. "Yes! Sam, I can't imagine a life where I don't wake up beside you every morning."_

_ Sam pushed her back onto the couch and took her left hand in his so he could slip a ring onto her finger. Then he picked her up and spun her, landing with a breathtaking kiss._

_ When he broke the kiss with his need for air, he murmured, "we should start packing up this apartment so you don't have to pay rent."_

_ Andy giggled. "Later. I want to go to the station and tell everyone."_

_End Flashback_

Andy smiled as his fingers touched the diamond and then glanced up. "My Dad's watching us."

Sam kissed her neck. "Do you blame him? We called him and told him we were coming to visit and now we are standing out here instead of up there with him."

Andy turned slightly. "Sam, thank you for helping him." After she was released from the hospital, Sam had gone to speak to Tommy McNally. Andy did not know what was said but…

_Flashback_

_ "Sam, my dad's not answering his phone." She was panicking. It was her second Friday home and she knew something was up when Sam didn't answer her panicked statement._

_ Sam came into the bedroom a few minutes later carrying something wrapped in brown paper. He looked at her face and set the package on the bed before pulling her into his arms. "What's wrong?"_

_ "My dad's not answering his cell phone or his house phone."_

_ "I know. He is going to a rehab center for a little while. They don't allow cell phones for the first week."_

_ Andy looked at him, confusion splayed across her face. "How do you know?"_

_ Sam shrugged. "A slot just opened in one of the centers. He called here this morning while you were still asleep and I told him to go."_

_ Andy realized that Sam was behind what was going on but she was happy he convinced her father to go. She turned to the object on the bed. "What's this?"_

_ Sam's phone began to vibrate signaling a text message. He opened the message as he responded. "A present. Hurry up or we are going to be late."_

_ "Late to what?" she asked as she opened the present. Then she grinned._

_ Her "present" was a new uniform. Sam had explained to her the way the ceremony worked. The rookies came in and Frank would tell them that they were dressed improperly and should go back to the locker room. Noelle and Oliver would be absent from the beginning of Parade and would leave short sleeve uniform shirts hanging on the lockers of the rookies. The rookies would change and return to Parade for a little party before shift._

_ What Andy did not know was how Sam had orchestrated her part of the ceremony. Frank had told him to be there and the text was from Frank asking where he was because they had already sent the rookies out._

_ Sam quickly changed into his uniform and helped Andy into the shirt. She was wearing her jeans but that did not matter. When she was dressed, he kissed her soundly and then guided her to his truck._

_ When they reached the station, Sam grabbed her hand and walked to the Parade room. He made her stop outside the door._

_ "Sorry I'm late" he said as he stepped into the room "but I made a little detour." He grabbed Andy's hand and pulled her into the room._

_ The whole station erupted in cheers and the little party began._

_ Before they left, Frank called Sam and Andy into his office. He reached into a drawer behind him and handed something to Andy. When Andy looked down, she saw her father's badge._

_ "The cop makes the badge Andy. You have made your own. Give this back to your old man." Frank smiled at her._

_ Sam led her back to his truck. "What's wrong?"_

_ "I just wish my father were here to see this."_

_End Flashback_

When Tommy returned home, he was a changed man. Andy gave him his badge and he told her how proud he was of her and that she was his inspiration to keep moving forward. He had not touched a bottle since the day he touched her and Andy found that she and Sam were able to reestablish a relationship with him.

"Anytime love. C'mon. Ready to go tell your father that his little girl is going to have a little one of her own in a few short months?" He started to walk but Andy did not move. "Andy, sweetheart, you have to put the past behind you. What happened last year was not your fault. Focus on the future instead."

Her husband was right. She had to put the past behind her and focus on the future, the life of her unborn child. As she turned to follow him, thoughts swirled around her mind. She glanced back one last time; taking in the scene where she almost died thinking _Sam is right. I need to put this behind me. None of this was my fault; I was just an innocent bystander._

_

* * *

_A.N. Thanks for reading and sticking with me throughout this story. I was going through all of the other chapters before I posted and realized that in one of the early chapters I said the story was basically written - let that be a lesson that sometimes changing one detail changes the whole story!

Now that I am finished with this story, I am working on a new chapter for Obeying Orders and Just a Virus.

Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter because reviews make my day (and a happy me means more inspiration to write/edit/post).


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